Helena withdraws from drug task force over Border Patrol membership, East Helena stays on

The Helena Police Department is temporarily breaking from a multi-jurisdiction drug task force over concerns of aiding immigration arrests after U.S. Border Patrol formally joined its ranks.

The introduction of Border Patrol agents to the Missouri River Drug Task Force, an anti-drug-trafficking organization that includes 14 Montana law enforcement agencies, sent the city governments of Helena and East Helena in opposite directions this week, as the former withdrew from the task force while East Helena approved an updated agreement despite some concerns from police officials.

"I don't want to go down the road of immigration enforcement," Helena Police Chief Brett Petty said Wednesday evening.

The task force consists of city and county law enforcement across Lewis and Clark, Broadwater, Madison, Meagher, Gallatin, Sweet Grass and Park counties, as well as federal agencies. It has two headquarters: one in Lewis and Clark and the other in Gallatin.

The task force regularly works with federal agents and investigators to conduct drug manufacturing and trafficking investigations and arrests, including the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Agency.

While MRDTF previously worked with Border Patrol, which is part of Homeland Security, a new agreement made the partnership more permanent, placing agents in Helena and Bozeman and adding Border Patrol to the official task force roster.

Amid a national immigration crackdown by the Trump administration, the addition of agents who typically focus on immigration enforcement sparked questions and some tension around the two cities, despite efforts by the county sheriff to quell concerns.

“We’re not doing any immigration work,” said Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton, who serves as current chairman of the task force. “We want safe communities where people aren’t swept off the street and taken to Mexico, or wherever they’re sent to.”

Helena police

The Helena Police Department officially withdrew from the task force as of Jan. 1, Petty said Wednesday.

At a city administrative meeting, he told Helena city commissioners it was a precaution against collaborating with immigration enforcement. He said the withdrawal was temporary and that he may be willing to rejoin once he fully understood the Border Patrol’s role.

“I don’t have a time frame at all,” Petty said. “I kind of want to see how this plays out.”

Helena began formally shifting away from federal collaboration after the July detainment of Christopher Martinez, a Helena resident who was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after an HPD traffic stop.

Both ICE and U.S. Border Patrol, which is a sub-agency of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, are housed under the Department of Homeland Security.

Martinez was not a United States citizen and later voluntarily left the country. His arrest ignited local outrage, pushing Helena city officials to ink a formal statement against HPD and ICE collaboration.

That statement and resolution is expected to go in front of Helena city commissioners for approval on Jan. 26.

Helena, a founding member of the task force, previously committed one detective to the Missouri River Drug Task Force’s drug investigation work as part of its membership, and that detective would still be working for Helena, Petty said. Helena could still coordinate with the task force as needed.

Helena would also be losing an annual $30,000 grant, which comes from its task force partnership. At this point in the fiscal year, that puts Helena out $15,000, Petty said.

HPD is the only member of the Missouri River Drug Task Force to withdraw over the addition of Border Patrol agents, Dutton told the Independent Record.

The Border Patrol agents have already arrived, Dutton said, two working in Helena and two working in Bozeman. The Bozeman Police Department confirmed it was still a member of the task force Friday morning.

Border Patrol has informally worked with the task force for 20 years, Dutton said, but its official addition has been in talks for around two.

The amended memorandum of understanding, or MOU, specifies that the Border Patrol would follow the task force’s mission in deterring drug and human trafficking. Dutton stressed Border Patrol would mostly be providing intelligence.

Border Patrol agents would “still answer to their bosses” if they encountered undocumented immigrants, he said. However, the Missouri River Drug Task Force wouldn’t be obligated to assist, Dutton said.

HPD’s withdrawal poses some logistical challenges, Dutton said — namely, preventing “blue-on-blue” conflicts. For example, if HPD unknowingly arrests a task force informant, it could put undercover officers at risk, he said.

Toward the end of Wednesday’s administrative meeting, multiple public comments praised HPD’s withdrawal, stating it showed the department was listening.

“It's genuinely appreciated that you heard from Helena citizens, acknowledged that and made a decision based on it,” public commenter Caleb Wallace said.

East Helena police

In East Helena, the city council voted Tuesday night to approve the changes to the task force’s MOU to include U.S. Border Patrol activities as part of its mission.

That approval came despite concerns about liability from former police Chief Mike Sanders and new Chief Ed Royce. East Helena already has an MOU in place to be part of the task force through June 2027, and Tuesday’s vote, even if the council had gone against the proposal, would not have removed East Helena from the organization.

Royce said while he was not well-versed in the topic, he believes in the task force’s mission of fighting drug trafficking and is supportive of the manpower devoted to helping smaller forces conduct investigations. But he said Sanders, a former Drug Enforcement Agency agent, had liability concerns for the city because he was unsure what enforcement abilities U.S. Border Patrol had over drug crimes.

“So, if you’re adding a federal agency into local law enforcement, there’s a recipe for bad things to happen,” Royce said. “Who’s liable? Who’s going to clean things up?”

The agreement includes posting two Border Patrol intelligence agents in Helena. The task force would continue to direct and lead all operations, but Border Patrol would provide intelligence and investigative support and drug enforcement training, according to the document.

Dutton told the chief, mayor and council he disagreed with stated concerns about liability, which he said stems from fears, amplified by the recent ICE operations in Minnesota, that Border Patrol will be kicking in doors and doing immigration enforcement while working with the task force.

Rather, he said, the changes are about identifying more human traffickers and catching more drug traffickers. He offered that not signing the updated agreement would be negligent given the work the task force would be doing for East Helena.

Several members of the public came to testify they had heard Helena had opted out of the task force and were concerned East Helena was considering doing the same, though that was not on the table at Tuesday’s meeting. They all told the council to support the new MOU.

East Helena Public Schools Superintendent Dan Rispens and school board chairman Scott Walker said the updated agreement would enhance the task force’s capabilities in keeping drugs out of communities.

“I think that extra intelligence factor that we would be able to glean, or the folks that are working on our behalf on the drug task force would be able to glean, from that cooperation with Border Patrol is going to increase efficiency and just the knowledge base of local law enforcement to be more effective in intercepting and interdicting with people who are bad actors and trying to do things to hurt us,” Rispens said.

Dutton also told Mayor Kelly Harris that not signing onto the updated agreement might mean East Helena would not be at the top of the task force’s priority list.

In the end, the council voted 3-1 to approve the updated MOU. Councilmember Suzanne Ferguson was the lone vote against the proposal.