President Barack Obama waves as walks across the South Lawn of the White House after speaking about immigration in Miami, on his return in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015, (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Washington (CNN) – A federal appeals court on Tuesday denied a request from Justice Department lawyers to allow President Barack Obama’s controversial immigration actions to go into effect pending appeal.

The decision is a victory for Texas and 25 other states that are challenging the Obama administration’s actions, which were blocked by a District Court judge inFebruary. Tuesday’s decision means that while the issue is appealed, eligible undocumented immigrants will be unable to apply for the programs aimed at easing deportation threats.

“Because the government is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its appeal of the injunction, we deny the motion for stay and the request to narrow the scope of the injunction,” according to the 2-1 decision by a panel of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

At issue is the implementation of the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) and the expansion of the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program that permits teenagers and young adults who were born outside of the United States, but raised in the country, to apply for protection from deportation and for employment authorizations.

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