Montana officials are investigating local leaders after the Helena City Commission voted on a resolution that prevents law enforcement from assisting with federal immigration enforcement activities. Governor Greg Gianforte (R) believes the resolution to be a potential violation of a state law banning sanctuary cities.
“In 2021, I signed House Bill 200 into law that explicitly bans sanctuary city policies in Montana and under this law, no state or local government may enact policies that refuse cooperation with federal immigration authorities,” Gianforte said. “Recently, the Helena City Commission passed a resolution that raises serious concerns about its compliance with state law. Together with Attorney General Knudsen, today we are announcing an investigation into this recent action.”
Gianforte’s statement comes as he sent a letter to state Attorney General Austin Knudsen, where he argued that the resolution is “clearly designed to obstruct federal law enforcement operations.”
“HB 200 was designed specifically to prevent the kind of defiance we have seen in recent weeks,” the letter adds. “I ask that the Montana Department of Justice investigate the specific language of the resolution from the Helena City Council to determine if it is a policy or practice that restricts federal immigration enforcement.”
In response to the threat of investigation, the City of Helena said in a statement that the “resolution was drafted with careful consideration of applicable local, state, and federal law, and the City believes the resolution is consistent with those legal requirements.”
According to the city’s resolution, the Commission “supports the Helena Police Department’s policy that it will not, independently or assisting other law enforcement agencies, stop, pursue, interrogate, investigate, arrest, or otherwise detain a person based solely on their immigration status or suspected violations of immigration law.”
