Knudsen demands Gallatin County reverse decision on ICE access to records

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen on Thursday demanded the Gallatin County Attorney’s Office undo an internal decision to block federal immigration authorities from accessing confidential criminal justice information.

Knudsen’s letter said the county was toeing the sort of sanctuary policies that his office just successfully pushed City of Helena officials to back down from, while Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell described the decision as a one-off, not a standing policy.

Knudsen, a Republican, based his April 2 cease-and-desist letter off an email between county attorney staff and 911 center employees, which stated, “the Gallatin County Attorney’s Office does not legally recognize Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as law enforcement agency entitled to receive Confidential Criminal Justice Information,” adding that the agency would need a court order to obtain materials usually shared between law enforcement.

The attorney general said in his letter that ICE falls squarely within the definition of a criminal justice agency in Montana statutes, and that county attorneys do not have the authority to narrow the application of that law.

“Denying ICE access to information routinely shared among criminal justice agencies impedes the ability of federal officers to identify, apprehend and remove individuals who may pose a risk to Montana communities,” Knudsen wrote.

In a response Wednesday afternoon, County Attorney Audrey Cromwell, a Democrat, said there is no blanket policy in Gallatin County prohibiting cooperation with ICE or any federal agency.

A statement from Cromwell’s office said the email Knudsen cited was written in response to a specific instance in September, when ICE requested confidential criminal justice information (CCJI) for an individual involved in a civil matter. The county’s records department asked for an opinion from Cromwell’s office.

“After legal review, the civil division of the County Attorney’s Office determined that ICE, in this context, was not acting as a ‘criminal justice agency’ under Montana’s CCJI statutes because the request was civil in nature and did not fall within the statutory definition tied to the administration of criminal justice,” Cromwell said in the statement.

“I take responsibility for any confusion that may have resulted from that email,” she added, while noting Montanans also have a heightened right to privacy.

Knudsen’s letter requested a response by April 6. A spokesperson for Cromwell said she intends to meet that deadline.

This isn’t the first time Knudsen has leaned in on immigration matters in Gallatin County.

A year ago Cromwell advised officials against detaining undocumented immigrants at the local jail, saying the matter could ensnare the county in costly fallout from the Trump administration’s loose application of due process rights. Already, Gallatin County had enrolled in the 287(g) program, which allows trained local law enforcement officers to perform certain functions of ICE officers.

Still, Knudsen issued a letter in May objecting to Cromwell’s guidance on the jail discussion, stating her advice was flawed and that Montanans had overwhelmingly voted in 2024 to support President Donald Trump and, by extension, his immigration crackdown.

That crackdown hit a third rail in January in Minneapolis when ICE agents shot and killed two Americans while reportedly seeking undocumented immigrants wanted on federal warrants. In the surging response, Cromwell joined a group of Montana Democratic lawmakers visiting Minneapolis as a show of protest against federal overreach.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported that Cromwell met with local law enforcement officials, including the Minnesota Attorney General, to discuss prosecutorial strategies should similar events take place in Montana.

Knudsen, meanwhile, worked with Gov. Greg Gianforte in recent months to undo a resolution passed by the Helena City Commission that said local law enforcement should not work in concert with federal immigration authorities. The top Republican officials said that resolution ran afoul of a 2021 law passed by the GOP Legislature blocking local governments from interfering with immigration enforcement, threatening huge fines for local officials for putting “sanctuary city” laws in place.

Late last month, upon legal guidance from outside counsel, the Helena commission voted 4-1 to rescind that resolution until a new one could be drawn up that resolves Knudsen’s concerns, although its unclear whether the attorney general will meet directly with Helena leaders to sort out a compromise.