Helena City Commission to Vote on Rescinding Immigration Resolution After State Inquiry

Mayor Emily Dean called a special meeting for March 26 to discuss Helena's next steps after Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen threatened the city with a lawsuit. The Commission will consider the future of the resolution, including making cuts or a rescission, that Knudsen has said violates the state's anti-sanctuary city law.

The special meeting will take place at the Civic Center Auditorium at 5:30 p.m. to accommodate what is expected to be a large turnout of public commenters. The meeting is scheduled at the Helena Civic Center auditorium and was moved from the typical location at the City-County Building because a large crowd is expected. Attendees can also join remotely via Zoom.

At the center of the dispute is Resolution No. 21062, enacted on January 26, 2026, which is alleged to violate Montana law MCA § 2-1-601, prohibiting sanctuary jurisdictions. Public testimony about the resolution lasted three hours before the City Commission voted 4-1 to pass it. The resolution instructs Helena employees, including law enforcement, not to disclose a person's immigration or citizenship status to anyone outside city government unless required by law, and prohibits Helena Police Department officers from entering a 287(g) agreement that would deputize them for specific ICE tasks.

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." Knudsen said the city could be fined up to $10,000 every five days if found to be in violation of state law, and would also be at risk of losing funding from the Department of Commerce, including Coal Ward funding. If a judge were to count day one of the resolution as the first day of noncompliance, as of Thursday Helena would owe the state about $120,000.

On Feb. 11, 16 days after the Helena City Commission approved the resolution, Knudsen announced in a joint press conference with Gov. Greg Gianforte that the state Department of Justice had opened an investigation into the city for what they described as illegal contradictions between the city resolution and state law. "The city of Helena does not make state law," Knudsen said at that press conference. "This is clearly the city council of Helena thumbing its nose at the Montana Legislature," he added.

Commissioner Sean Logan said the special meeting was called for by the Mayor. Logan wrote, "City staff are complying with the Attorney General's requests by providing additional explanations and relevant public documents." Helena has also retained the services of Natasha Jones, an attorney with Boone Karlberg who played a key role in Missoula's long legal battle to acquire Mountain Water Company.

Last week, City Attorney Rebecca Dockter upset some activists and supporters of the resolution when she told commissioners that Helena must "consider its options, including the option of rescinding the resolution itself." A letter was sent to the Helena City Commission by the state on March 10, asking it to respond to four questions following the January 26 resolution, and the state gave the city a 15-day response time, which it is now pushing up against.

Public reaction at a Wednesday administrative meeting was sharply opposed to any rollback. Multiple commenters demanded the Commission make minimal edits to the resolution, if any. Helena Business Improvement District program manager Abigail Dolan pressed commissioners on their timeline: "Do we have to wait two more years to see a decision being made and then two more years to see it actually happen? So would you just make any decision?"

Mayor Dean also invited the state to attend to talk through the resolution, but at least one commissioner who voted for it wants to know why the city is considering a rescission. Helena's city attorney, mayor, police chief and several commissioners declined to comment, citing a potential legal battle with the state.