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California, New York and 12 other states are joining in the push to salvage President Obamas plan to grant legal protection to millions of people in the U.S. illegally even if its only revived in their parts of the country.

A federal judge has frozen the immigration program while a lawsuit filed by Texas and 25 other states proceeds. Those states, mostly led by Republican governors, contend Obama is forcing their taxpayers to pick up the financial burden for millions of immigrants.

Now, 14 mostly Democratic-led states some with the highest populations of immigrants eligible for Obamas program are presenting an alternative argument: They say allowing immigrants some protections would actually benefit them, in the form of increased tax revenues and stronger families.

Lawyers for these states and the District of Columbia filed a brief Thursday arguing that a federal appeals court should lift the lower courts order or at least limit its effect to Texas and perhaps the other 25 states that are also suing.

A single state cannot dictate national immigration policy, the states wrote in their legal argument, filed in the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

The filing, part of a legal strategy coordinated with the Obama administration, cements a political rift between red and blue states on the presidents executive action. It also signals an effort by the immigration plans supporters to sustain momentum while the program is held up in court.

Justice Department lawyers also asked the appeals court on Thursday for an emergency ruling that would allow the program to go forward, saying that the lower-court judges decision halting it was unprecedented and wrong.

The motion says states have no business interfering in the federal governments job to enforce immigration laws. Allowing the decision to stand would hurt the Department of Homeland Securitys ability to police the border, the appeal says, by preventing authorities from concentrating on deporting criminals.

The dispute is probably headed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the administration is trying to move the case along quickly -- and to get the program up and running while Obama is in office. It asked the appellate court for a decision on the stay within 14 days and for arguments on the constitutional issues in the case to be held by June.

Announced last year, Obamas plan would grant a three-year protection from deportation to up to 5 million people living in the country illegally. The largest piece, called Deferred Action for Parents of Americans, would offer three-year work permits to parents of U.S. citizens or other legal residents. It wouldnt be open to recent arrivals or to people with serious criminal records.

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Obama immigration program, blocked by Texas judge, wins 14 states' support

President Obama faces his final two years in office without one of his closest aides, Senior Adviser and White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer, who departed the White House last week.

The 39-year-old hit the campaign trail with then-Sen. Obama, D-Illinois in 2007. He talked with "CBS This Morning" co-host Charlie Rose about the impact of the presidency on Mr. Obama.

"He's been through a lot; he's had to make tough decisions," he said. "But at his core, the same genuine, good person, with the same faith and the goodness in the American people exists to me."

Mr. Obama was viewed during his campaign as a gifted leader, with the ability to move voters, to inspire them, but as president, he's been criticized for not communicating well enough, a shortcoming that Pfeiffer seemed to acknowledge.

"[I]n the first two years, I think we all stepped back and looked at it and realized that the trees had overwhelmed the forest. We were doing health care, we were doing save the auto industry, we were doing the stimulus and each one of those things were sort of their own thing and they didn't weave a broader narrative," Pfeiffer said. "But I think, on the issues the president cares about, public opinion has moved significantly in his direction over the course of our time in the White House."

There are few people who have served in the administration who have been closer to the president's decision-making process than Pfeiffer. It will come as no surprise that the president's approach, in Pfeiffer's words, is "deliberative" and "calm," with a touch of the devil's advocate.

"Sometimes you'll be in the room and you actually don't know what his position is because he is arguing the other side -- this is the law professor in him -- to test out the opposite argument, to see how strong it is," Pfeiffer said."It's a fascinating thing to watch his mind work as you sort of see him slowly work his mind around the problem from all the different sides."

And the president is generally comfortable with his decisions, whatever the outcome. "[He] very rarely ever looks, even if the decision goes poorly, spends a lot of time second guessing. He will try to learn the lessons from it," Pfeiffer said. "His belief is to try to do the right thing and let sort of let the chips fall where they may."

As for his own experience, Pfeiffer pointed out the extra gray hairs he's earned along with Mr. Obama over the years.

"There's photo evidence that we've all aged a lot in that period of time," Pfeiffer said. "I looked at a bunch of photos of myself from the early 2007 days and, one I can't believe how much I've aged, and I can't believe they hired a child basically to work on that campaign."

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Obama's right-hand man on "battle-hardened" Barack

March 12, 2015: President Barack Obama talks with Jimmy Kimmel during a break in taping on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Obama condemned the shooting of two police officers during protests in Ferguson, Mo., saying that though the city's law enforcement practices were "oppressive and objectionable", there was "no excuse" for violence.

Obama made the remarks during a taped appearance on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Thursday evening.

The officers were shot just after midnight Thursday morning as protests were winding down following the resignation of Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson. Jackson was the sixth city official to leave office following a Justice Department review of the city's law enforcement practices. The review was precipitated by the fatal shooting last August of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black man, by a white police officer, Darren Wilson.

The officers were treated for their injuries and released from a St. Louis hospital Thursday morning.

"Whoever fired those shots should not detract from the issue -- they are criminals, they need to be arrested," Obama said. "And then what we need to do is make sure that like-minded, good-spirited people on both sides -- law enforcement, who have a terrifically tough job, and people who understandably don't want to be stopped and harassed just because of their race -- that they are able to work together to come up with some good answers."

Earlier Thursday, Obama had tweeted about the shooting, calling it "unacceptable."

Obama's Ferguson remarks were a rare detour into seriousness by the president during his "Kimmel" appearance. The president also submitted himself to one of the show's most popular segments, "Mean Tweets," in which celebrities are forced to read hostile Twitter comments about themselves.

After enduring the routine, Obama told Kimmel, "You should see what the Senate says about me."

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Obama says 'no excuse' for shooting police officers in Ferguson during 'Kimmel' appearance - Ferguson keeps calm night ...

FNN: Obama Speaks on Education at Georgia Tech
President Obama will be delivering remarks on education in Atlanta at Georgia Tech.

By: FOX 10 Phoenix

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FNN: Obama Speaks on Education at Georgia Tech - Video

Waiting to See President Obama at Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech students finding some creative ways to pass the time as they waited to gain entrance to McCamish Pavilion to hear President Obama #39;s address at Georgia Tech on March 10, 2015. More...

By: Georgia Tech

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Waiting to See President Obama at Georgia Tech - Video