NEW YORK (NYTIMES) - US President Donald Trump's efforts to build a wall along the south-west border hit a roadblock on Friday (May 24) evening when a federal judge in California granted a preliminary injunction against the administration that prevents it from redirecting funds from other agencies toward the barrier.

Judge Haywood Gilliam of US District Court for the Northern District of California, who is overseeing a pair of adjacent lawsuits filed against the administration, wrote that the administration's efforts likely overstep the president's statutory authority.

The legal challenges were filed shortly after Trump declared a national emergency along the south-west border with Mexico in February.

The move by the president followed a two-month standoff with Congress over funding to build a long-promised barrier wall there.