Montana AG Sends Cease-and-Desist Letter to Helena

Back in February, we shared a story with you about Montana Governor Gianforte and Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen making it known they were cracking down on cities offering sanctuary to illegal aliens, specifically Helena.

Now, Montana AG Knudsen is taking the next step to send a message to Helena officials.

Montana's Stance on Sanctuary Cities

Last month, Governor Gianforte appeared on Fox News to talk about Helena's adoption of a resolution that would avoid "committing its resources to federal actions for which it has no authority including avoiding any actions that would commit it to a 287(g)-agreement pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act."

ALSO READ: Montana Capitol Permit Changes Spark First Amendment Debate

"This resolution is clearly designed to obstruct federal law enforcement operations," Gianforte told Fox News at the time, "In Montana, we don’t tolerate defiance and we support our law enforcement officers."

"If you are found to be in violation of state law, there will be penalties."

According to Montana Code Annotated 2-1-601 to 605, sanctuary cities are banned and outlawed in the state of Montana.

Because of Helena's resolution that remains in effect, Montana AG Knudsen sent a cease-and-desist letter to Helena on Tuesday, March 10th.

Montana AG Knudsen's Cease-and-Desist Letter to Helena

In a cease-and-desist letter shared by NBC Montana, we learned AG Knudsen addressed the letter to: Mayor Emily Dean, Commissioners Julia Gustafson, Sean Logan, Linda Reed, and Ben Rigby.

"Recently, the Helena City Commission adopted Resolution No. 21062 on January 26, 2026, which appears to be a blatant violation of M.C.A. § 2-1-601 et seq., titled 'Sanctuary Jurisdictions – Prohibitions,'" AG Knudsen wrote.

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"Notably, this resolution establishes a broad sanctuary city policy that seeks to protect every illegal immigrant in the city’s jurisdiction, regardless of whether that alien has committed a serious crime and is a recidivist."

AG Knudsen breaks down Helena's violations pretty clearly.

"First, there is no doubt that the City of Helena is a 'local government,' which is defined to include 'a municipality,'" AG Knudsen says, "Second, the Helena City Commission’s passage of Resolution 21062 qualifies as the adoption of a policy."

"Third, Resolution 21062 restricts government employees—namely officers in the Helena Police Department (“HPD”) and other city employees—from performing certain actions to facilitate the lawful enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws."

Helena Has Until March 25th to Respond to Cease-and-Desist Letter Requests

Per the letter, AG Knudsen is requesting a few items from Helena officials. First, Helena officials are asked to provide (in detail) how their resolution complies with Montana Code Annotated (MCA) § 2-1-602.

Helena officials are also being asked to provide all emails "and other correspondence between any member of the Helena City Commission, including the Mayor, and any other person related to the Resolution."

READ MORE: Governor Gianforte Promises Penalties for Montana Sanctuary Cities

They're also asking for all emails and correspondence about the resolution between the City Manager's office and city employees as well as between the Helena Chief of Police and officers related to the resolution.

If and when punishments are dealt, we'll report them to you as soon as they're announced.