On Friday demonstrators gathered outside of a New Orleans federal courthouse to voice their frustration at the way President Barack Obama’s attempts to overhaul the U.S. immigration system seem to have been stifled.

Justice Department lawyers have urged a federal appeals court to lift an injunction on a plan that, if in effect, would allow up to 5 million illegal immigrants to live in the country, letting them freely obtain work permits and receive other benefits as well.

At the request of 26 states that opposed Obama's attempts at immigration reform, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen granted a preliminary injunction, which for time being has blocked the Obama administration from implementing planned policies that would protect illegal immigrants from deportation.

As reported by Fox News, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stated his concerns, saying: “We have law enforcement costs. Then there’s additional costs to the federal government, because basically this is a benefits program for people who are not actually supposed to be here.”

Protesters, such as 43-year-old Victor Ibarra from Houston,Texas, believe that immigration reform is long overdue.

"We are human. We want family to be together. We just want to be OK in this country, cause no trouble and have the opportunity to be in the U.S. all our life,” Ibarra said.

After the November midterm elections, Obama announced his executive orders, saying that the inaction of Congress had driven him to initiate the sweeping changes to immigration rules on his own.

A coalition of 26 states, led by Texas, sued to overturn Obama's executive action, arguing that the action was unconstitutional and would force the states to invest a greater amount in law enforcement, health care, as well as education.

The first of Obama's orders, which concerned a plan to expand a program that would protect young immigrants from deportation if they were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, was supposed to have taken effect on Feb. 18.