KEVIN McGILL, Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled against President Barack Obama’s plan to protect an estimated 5 million people living in the United States illegally from deportation.

In a 2-1 decision Monday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Texas-based federal judge’s injunction blocking the administration’s immigration initiative.

Republicans had criticized the plan as an illegal executive overreach when Obama announced it last November. Twenty-six states challenged the plan in court.

The administration argued that the executive branch was within its rights in deciding to defer deportation of selected groups of immigrants, including children who were brought to the U.S. illegally.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott praised the ruling.