Helena commission still split on new immigration policy after state threats

Helena’s City Commission still has no consensus on a new immigration policy, leaving the city in a stalemate after Attorney General Austin Knudsen warned he would challenge any revised version. The impasse has shut down the most concrete next step on the table, a return to the tougher January resolution, and it has turned City Hall into a test of how far Helena is willing to push against state power.

That January policy, adopted 4-1 on Jan. 26 after roughly 80 public comments, told Helena police not to stop, pursue, interrogate, investigate, arrest or otherwise detain someone based solely on immigration status or suspected immigration-law violations. It also said officers would not willingly share residents’ personal information with outside agencies and would avoid committing city resources to federal immigration action. Supporters packed the meeting and some called for even stronger action, while city attorney Rebecca Dockter warned commissioners to steer clear of language that could be seen as obstructing federal authority.

The fight intensified after Gov. Greg Gianforte and Knudsen announced a state investigation on Feb. 11, citing Montana’s 2021 sanctuary-city ban in House Bill 200. Knudsen followed with a March 10 cease-and-desist letter calling the policy a "blatant violation" of state law. On March 26, after more than five hours of public comment and deliberation at the Helena Civic Center, commissioners rescinded the resolution 4-1. Mayor Emily Dean said the city risked grant dollars with "real and tangible impact" if it kept the policy in place.

That retreat did not end the political fight. Commission members are still split over whether to draft a replacement policy at all, and any proposal that recreates the January language appears boxed in by the state’s legal threats. Under the sanctuary-city law, cities that do not comply can face $10,000 fines every five days and the possible loss of state grant funding. Knudsen has already signaled that a revised Helena policy would draw another challenge, which makes a full restoration of the old resolution effectively off the table.

The dispute has also spilled into local policing. Helena Police Chief Brett Petty pulled his department from the Missouri River Drug Task Force, saying Border Patrol’s role had become too strong. Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton said the task force was not focused on immigration enforcement, but four Border Patrol officers had been added, two based in Helena and two in Bozeman. For a city of about 33,639 and a county of 75,331, the issue has outsized consequences for how residents view police, City Hall and the state’s reach into local decisions.