Immigration activists are holding demonstrations across the country in wake of the one-year anniversary of President Barack Obama's executive action on immigration reform, which aims to protect millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation.

On Friday, protesters rallied in more than 20 cities, including Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Raleigh, North Carolina. Meanwhile several pro-immigrant groups planned to hold demonstrations in nine other locations over the weekend, reports NPR.

The rallies come as the Obama administration continues to fight in a tense legal battle against a coalition of Republican governors who want to stop the orders from going into effect. If implemented, the orders would shield up to 5 million undocumented residents living in the U.S. from being deported. It would also protect the parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents, while expanding protection for young people brought to this country as children.

However, shortly after the president announced his plan a year ago, Texas and 25 other states filed a lawsuit to block the order, arguing that the president had overstepped his authority.

A federal court in Texas and an appellate court in New Orleans then ruled in favor of the states and delayed the president's orders. In response, the Obama administration filed a request on Friday asking the Supreme Court to remove stays by the lower courts that are blocking his executive actions from going into effect.

A spokeswoman for the Texas Attorney General's office, Cynthia Meyer, also released a statement, saying "we stand ready to continue defending the rule of law against the president's unconstitutional use of executive power."

In meantime, advocates are trying to keep the fight for immigration reform alive by holding rallies, marches, vigils and direct actions this weekend.

"There are folks who are watching very keenly what's going on because they understand that the light at the end of the tunnel is there and that we're not done yet," said Polo Morales, political director at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHILR), according to NBC News.

"We are reminding Latinos that our growing political power can force comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship," said Ben Monterroso, executive director of Mi Familia Vota, which planned to hold events this weekend to mobilize Latino voters.

Meanwhile, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Linda Sánchez vowed that she and other Hispanic lawmakers will continue to "fight tooth and nail" to defend Obama's executive actions.

"That is why we continue to work tirelessly toward comprehensive legislation that allows all 11 million immigrant families to come out of the shadows and at last, live with dignity and certainty," she said.