Ken Paxton

After Paxton said the lawsuit was politically motivated, the attorney general announced his office is investigating a state bar’s nonprofit arm for allegedly aiding “a mass influx” of undocumented immigrants.

Abortion has been a hot-button issue, and in an election year, Democrats and Republicans have made it part of their platforms.

The lawsuit is the 11th Ken Paxton has filed over the president's proposed immigration or border policies. But the White House’s plans have also raised concerns from legal and immigrant rights groups.

Thursday's ruling was clear, and close to unanimous, with only Justice Clarence Thomas in dissent.

In an order late Monday, the Third Court of Appeals reinstated a statewide injunction into the practice that was previously granted by a state district judge earlier this month.

Attorney General Ken Paxton appealed an order Friday temporarily halting such investigations. Lawyers want the practice stopped as the case winds through the judicial process.

Last month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed the state’s child welfare agency to investigate family and medical providers who help young transgender youth receive gender-affirming care. The move immediately attracted a legal challenge and condemnation across the country from LGBTQ+ advocates. They say the state policy is part of a years-long campaign against trans youth in Texas — and it’s inspired one young Texan to speak out.

The Texas Attorney General is defending the governor’s decision to order the state’s child welfare agency to investigate parents, and health care professionals for providing certain gender-affirming medical treatments to transgender kids.

The appeals court’s decision allows a lower court to hold a hearing on whether Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive to investigate certain gender-affirming care as child abuse can stand.

A state judge’s ruling does not stop the agency from opening investigations into other families in similar situations.