Knudsen issues cease and desist over Helena immigration resolution
Micah Drew
(Daily Montanan) Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen has found a resolution the Helena City Commission passed last month in response to aggressive federal immigration enforcement around the nation “appears to be a blatant violation” of a statewide ban on sanctuary cities and demanded the city change its policy.
In a cease-and-desist letter sent March 10, Knudsen said the resolution “establishes a broad sanctuary city policy that seeks to protect every illegal immigrant in the city’s jurisdiction, regardless of whether that alien has committed a serious crime and is a recidivist.”
The Attorney General and Gov. Greg Gianforte, both Republicans, announced a month ago a formal investigation had been initiated into the city’s resolution, stemming from a 2021 law Gianforte signed.
Sanctuary cities are those with policies that often do not fully cooperate with federal immigration laws in order to protect the safety of all residents.
Montana’s law says that state agencies or local governments cannot restrict government employees from “sending to, receiving from, exchanging with, or maintaining for a federal, state, or local government entity information regarding a person’s citizenship or immigration status for a lawful purpose.”
Helena’s public information officer Amanda Opitz told the Daily Montanan the city is currently reviewing the matter, but cannot discuss the details of a potential legal issue.
“The city is committed to transparency and compliance with the law. The city takes these matters seriously and will continue to cooperate with the appropriate authorities while remaining focused on serving our community,” Opitz said.
The Helena City Commission signed its resolution on Jan. 26 with overwhelming support from members of the public, as concern about aggressive federal immigration enforcement around the nation has increased and has affected even small communities in Montana. The resolution affirms existing policies that restrict employees from disclosing sensitive information, including immigration status, with outside entities, including federal agencies, unless there is a court order.
The resolution also supports Helena Police Department policies that officers will not “stop, pursue, interrogate, investigate, arrest, or otherwise detain a person based solely on their immigration status or suspected violations of immigration law.”
Knudsen wrote that at least two of the provisions in the resolution appear to be illegal, and that the overall resolution “will have a chilling effect on HPD officers and city employees,” by sending a strong signal that cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agencies goes against city policy.
He also wrote that a section of the resolution that allows city police officers to ask federal officers to unmask creates an “adversarial relationship,” which he said “undermines public safety and forces immigration officers to fear for their safety when they are simply carrying out their lawful duties.”
According to Montana statute, violations of the sanctuary city law could lead to a $10,000 fine for every five days a local government is out of compliance, withholding of state funds including from the Montana coal board and coal board endowment program.
Knudsen wrote that the city commission must change its policy “or otherwise demonstrate that you are in compliance with the prohibition on sanctuary jurisdictions.”
The city Commission has 15 days to provide answers to the following questions from the Department of Justice:
- For each section of the Resolution, describe in detail how it complies with MCA § 2-1-602.
- Provide copies of all emails and other correspondence between any member of the Helena City Commission, including the Mayor, and any other person related to the Resolution.
- Provide copies of all emails and other correspondence between the City Manager’s office and city employees related to the Resolution.
- Provide copies of all emails and other correspondence between the Helena Chief of Police and any other city employee or officer related to the Resolution.