State to investigate Helena over noncooperation with federal immigration agents

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said he will investigate the city of Helena for stating that it will not assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Knudsen and fellow Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte announced the investigation Wednesday at a joint press conference at the Capitol. Gianforte suggested that Helena appears to have violated a 2021 Montana law banning cities from giving refuge to illegal immigrants. The governor indirectly acknowledged the January killings of two U.S. citizens by ICE agents in Minnesota as preceding a Jan. 26 Helena City Commission resolution to avoid assisting ICE.

“These tragedies, no matter how unfortunate, do not give local government the right to ignore laws that have been passed by the state of Montana,” Gianforte said. “In 2021 I signed House Bill 200. This legislation explicitly bans sanctuary cities in the state of Montana. Under this law, no state or local government can enact policies that refuse cooperation with federal immigration authorities.”

The Helena resolution directs city police officers to “avoid” assisting federal authorities with immigration enforcement. Local immigration advocates had for months urged the city to enact the policy. As Montana Free Press previously reported, public testimony about the resolution lasted three hours before the City Commission voted 4-1 to pass the resolution. Hundreds of people filled the commission room and three overflow rooms during public comment.

Specifically, the resolution orders the Helena Police Department not to sign a partnership agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The agreement is known as a 287(g) agreement. Police are to ask ICE agents to remain unmasked and  to identify themselves unless doing so would hamper federal work. 

The resolution prohibits the city of Helena from disclosing any resident’s place of birth, immigration status or national origin unless ordered by a court.

“This is clearly the City Commission of Helena thumbing its nose to the Montana Legislature,” Knudsen said. “The city of Helena does not make state law. I encourage it to retain counsel, get a lobbyist, come up here to the Capitol during the ’27 legislative session and take its best shot at changing the law. In the meantime, we will enforce state law as passed by the Montana Legislature and signed by the governor.”

The January resolution wasn’t Helena’s first directive to police about ICE interaction. A previous police policy instructed officers not to stop, investigate, detain or arrest anyone based on suspicion of violating federal immigration law.

While the mayor and city commission did not immediately provide comment on the state’s investigation, the city is expected to release a statement in response.  

Knudsen said Helena is the only Montana city he is currently concerned with. 

“To our knowledge, there’s not any other City Council in Montana who has formally taken action like this, formalized a policy statement,” Knudsen said. “There has been some concern about Missoula, but I’ve done some cursory investigation myself, and they haven’t adopted any kind of resolution or formalized policy as City Council. So at this point, we’re just looking at Helena.”