SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's governor and attorney general Tuesday joined the chorus of those praising a federal judge's decision in Texas halting President Barack Obama's executive order that would allow millions of people who have entered the country illegally a chance to remain here.

"The governor agrees with the ruling and has always felt the president has acted outside of the powers delegated to him by the Constitution," Mary Carpenter, spokesman for Gov. Gary Herbert, said in a released statement. "The governor feels strongly that Congress should act immediately to fix our immigration system."

The Texas judge made the decision in response to a lawsuit filed by 26 Republican-led states, including Utah, noting that there is sufficient merit to the states' arguments to suspend action while the lawsuit moves forward. The White House Tuesday said it would appeal the decision.

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said Tuesday that the lawsuit is based on a constitutional challenge to the president bypassing Congress and alleges he exceeded his executive authority.

"The president exceeded his constitutional authority, plain and simple, and the states brought suit so their representatives in Congress could debate and pass much needed immigration reform," Reyes said.

Reyes said the purpose of the lawsuit is not to frustrate debate and action on immigration issues, but urged the Utah congressional delegation to pass immigration laws.

"The process of how President Obama overstepped his legal authority is what is being challenged," Reyes said. "Regardless of how you feel about the policy, it does not justify implementation in an unconstitutional manner."

That was not welcome news for the thousands of Utah residents who crossed the border illegally and could have applied for deferred action through the Obama plan.

"I feel like a butterfly, but they cut my wings," said Liz, a woman who came to the United States from Mexico more than two decades ago when she was 15 years old. She spoke on condition that only her first name be used as she reacted to Monday's announcement.

"I was thinking a lot of things, when I get this big opportunity and now I can't," Liz said. "I can't think of my future anymore."

She would have qualified for both the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that allows those who came to the country illegally as children to apply for two-year work permits, and also as the undocumented parent of a U.S. citizen in the country at least five years.

The president's first order was set to take effect Wednesday with the second part of the order protecting undocumented parents of U.S. citizens expected to begin May 19. Those programs are now on hold.

Tim Wheelwright, a Salt Lake attorney whose specializes in immigration matters, said the judge's decision means those here illegally will not be able to apply for those programs this week.

"And quite frankly, we don't know exactly when she will be able to apply," he said.

Wheelwright said the number of Utahns eligible for the deferred action for parents is between 40,000 and 50,000, with four million eligible nationwide. He said the number is unclear for those in Utah eligible for the expanded childhood arrivals program, although the number is estimated at 400,000 across the country.

A statement released by the White House Tuesday said, "The Supreme Court and Congress have made clear that the federal government can set priorities in enforcing our immigration laws, which is exactly what the president did when he announced common sense policies to help fix our broken immigration system."

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HOUSTON (AP) — The White House promised an appeal Tuesday after a federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked President Barack Obama's executive action on immigration and gave a coalition of 26 states time to pursue a lawsuit aiming to permanently stop the orders.

The statement said the Department of Justice, legal scholars, immigration experts, and the district court in Washington, D.C., have determined the president's actions "are well within his legal authority."

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah said Tuesday, "The ruling is consistent with the president's own words, that he does not have the authority to ignore the law. And it underscores the need for Congress to defend the amnesty order now that a federal court has cast doubt on the president's actions."

Congressman Christ Stewart, R-Utah, also released a statement Tuesday:

"I'm very pleased with today's court ruling, as it reaffirms the roles of the branches of our government," Stewart said. "Article 1 of the Constitution makes it clear that, despite the president's insistence to the contrary, it is Congress' responsibility to create uniform immigration laws. President Obama's immigration actions threaten the constitutional balance of powers our founding fathers established."

Wheelwright said the president has authority to prioritize who should be deported and in what order.

"The problem with that is that there already is a regulation that gives the president the authority to do exactly what he's done," Wheelwright said. "Congress has already given the president the authority that he has executed to come up with the expanded DACA and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability."

Derek Monson, Sutherland Institute public policy director, said the situation is "really a lost opportunity to actually get an issue resolved where there was political will to try to resolve it, at least at some level."

"Politics took over and the result has been where we are now, and that's just too bad for everybody involved."

University of Utah Associate Professor of Sociology, Theresa Martinez, said it is unfortunate that the country and Utah is taking steps backward on immigration.

"We really need comprehensive immigration reform but at least (President Obama) was taking a proactive step and doing something to help the millions of people who are living in limbo," she said.

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