Appeals court denies Obama administration's request for executive action on immigration

A federal appeals court on Tuesday denied the White House's request to lift a hold on President Obama's executive action on immigration, which would have shielded immigrants from deportation and provided millions of immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally with work permits. The appeals court's ruling comes after 26 states filed a lawsuit against the immigration reform steps Obama took in November.

Two judges left an injunction from a Texas federal district judge in place, and the court found that "the administration had not shown it would be harmed if the injunction remained," The New York Times reports. Before the injunction, some of Obama's initiatives on immigration would have taken effect as early as this month.