Helena mayor calls special meeting on immigration resolution after AG threatens lawsuit

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 a resolution, including making cuts or a recission, that Knudsen has said violates the state's anti-sanctuary city law, according to a city public service announcement.

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 that approved the resolution, held Jan. 26 at the City-County Building, saw hundreds of attendees packed into chamber pews, spilling into three overflow rooms and spiraling down the stairs.

House Bill 200, passed in 2021, prohibits Montana from having so-called "sanctuary cities," a term used for cities that have made policies blocking some federal immigration enforcement activities. Specifically, the law says local governments are not allowed to enact policies that restrict the exchange of information about someone’s immigration or citizenship status “for a lawful purpose.”

After being prompted by Gov. Greg Gianforte, Knudsen issued Helena officials a cease-and-desist letter March 10. He gave Helena 15 days to respond.

“Helena’s resolution appears to contain blatant violations of this law,” Knudsen wrote in the letter. He argued that the city's resolution actively discouraged city employees from complying with federal law enforcement requests.

His office is asking Helena to explain how each section of the resolution complies with state law and to provide all emails and correspondence between city officials, including the City Commission, about the resolution.

Helena is in the process of gathering that data, City Attorney Rebecca Dockter told commissioners on Wednesday’s administrative meeting.

However, discussion from the City Commission on the resolution's future — including possibly rescinding part or all of the resolution — will take place at the March 26 special meeting. Though some commissioners advocated for a later meeting, Dockter and Dean urged a quicker turnaround, referencing the 15-day notice from Knudsen.

On Jan. 26, the City Commission passed the resolution in question, which instructed HPD to not enter a 287(g) agreement, which would allow Helena officers to be deputized to aid in specific U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement tasks.

It also tells Helena employees, including law enforcement, not to disclose a person's immigration or citizenship status to anyone outside city government unless required by law.

“The Commission supports the Helena Police Department’s policy that it will not, independently or assisting other law enforcement agencies, stop, pursue, interrogate, investigate, arrest, or otherwise detain a person based solely on their immigration status or suspected violations of immigration law,” the resolution states.

After Knudsen announced his investigation, Dockter said she was "comfortable" Helena's resolution followed state and federal law. The city is working with outside legal counsel as well, she said.

At the Wednesday's administrative meeting that saw Dean announce the upcoming special meeting, multiple public commenters demanded commissioners not rescind the resolution and make minimal edits, if any.

“We need to fight for this resolution,” Ashley Fischer said. She urged for small clause changes that explicitly state locals won’t get in the way of federal orders.

She said repealing the resolution would be a “slap in the face to Helena residents” and the local law enforcement.

Other commenters described Knudsen’s letter as “political theater” and “threatening rhetoric.”

“It’s super obvious the city is being bullied by the state,” Caleb Wallace said.

“This process may take a little more courage,” Julia Cotter said.

For interested attendees, the special meeting will be held at the Civic Center at 340 Neill Ave. It can also be watched online at zoom.helenamt.gov/c/36053471/publicmeetings.