A Helena district court judge has struck down the key element of a 2012 voter-approved law requiring government officials to conduct immigration checks on anybody seeking services provided by the state.

District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock said in his June 20 order that the state law conflicts with federal immigration laws by attempting to regulate immigration, which is exclusively a federal power.

Legislative Referendum 121 created its own definition of “illegal alien” that is not found in federal law, Sherlock said. That means state officials would be making their own determination of immigration status, which should only be done by authorized federal agents, he said.

“This is the crux of the problem with the enactment,” he wrote.

Nearly 80 percent of Montana voters approved the law in a 2012 referendum, but it has not been enforced since an immigration-rights group filed a legal challenge.

The law is intended to deny government jobs and assistance to people who are in the U.S. illegally — from unemployment benefits to crime-victim assistance.

It required Montana agencies to check the legal status of a person applying for any state service. If the person is not in the country legally, the agency must turn over the person’s name to federal immigration officials.

Sherlock allowed one provision of the law to stand, saying it doesn’t conflict with federal law — requiring state officials to report to immigration officials the name of a person who is not in the U.S. legally.

Attorney Shahid Haque-Hausrath, who challenged the law on behalf of the Montana Immigrant Justice Alliance, said the reporting provision shouldn’t matter as long as the rest of the law is struck down.

“That shouldn’t be of any significance because agencies won’t be screening or asking any questions,” Haque-Hausrath said. “That was the heart of LR 121.”