Montana AG Knudsen Threatens Lawsuit Over Helena's Immigration Resolution

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen stood at the state Capitol on Feb. 11 holding a copy of Helena City Resolution 21062, flanked by Gov. Greg Gianforte, and announced that the Montana Department of Justice is investigating Helena over the resolution's directive that city police "avoid" assisting federal immigration authorities.

The Helena City Commission passed Resolution 21062 on Jan. 26, 2026, following months of pressure from local immigration advocates and amid what Montana Free Press described as growing national frustration with immigration enforcement. The resolution restricts how Helena City Police interact with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and explicitly directs officers to avoid lending assistance to federal immigration operations.

Knudsen has also issued a cease-and-desist letter demanding the city repeal or modify the resolution, warning of legal action if it does not comply. "Today, we begin our investigation into the City of Helena following its recent misguided resolution and send a warning to every other local government to follow the law or face the consequences provided for in statute," Knudsen said in the Department of Justice announcement.

The legal foundation for the state's position is House Bill 200, which Gianforte signed in 2021. "In 2021, I signed House Bill 200 into law that explicitly bans sanctuary city policies in Montana and under this law, no state or local government may enact policies that refuse cooperation with federal immigration authorities," Gianforte said. The governor formally requested the DOJ investigation via letter before Knudsen agreed to open it.

The investigation will reach beyond the resolution itself. Knudsen said his office will also examine whether existing Helena city or police department policies independently violate state law, and he warned the exposure does not stop with the resolution: "The penalties could be much more severe." Knudsen was particularly pointed about one aspect of Helena's stance, saying, "The city of Helena has absolutely no authority to tell federal law enforcement how they can dress or what kind of apparel they can wear."

Helena officials have pushed back. The city said in response to the investigation that Resolution 21062 abides by local, state and federal law, though city officials have not provided detailed public legal analysis of how they believe the resolution squares with HB200.

The dispute places Helena at the center of a statewide confrontation between local governments and state officials over immigration enforcement. Gianforte's formal request to the DOJ referenced "recent actions taken by local governments across Montana" as potentially running afoul of the sanctuary city ban, suggesting Helena may not be the only municipality facing scrutiny. In Missoula, Mayor Andrea Davis recently told City Council members that local law enforcement's role is to "uphold our public safety here in our community, regardless of whether you're a resident or whether you're a guest," a framing that reflects the broader tension playing out in Montana cities over the boundary between local policing priorities and state law.