City of Helena Police Will Now Cooperate with ICE Following Vote

Over the last few weeks, we've been sharing updates with you about the City of Helena's resolution for police officers working with ICE and the State of Montana's reactions to said resolution. Among the most recent updates, we shared how Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen sent a cease-and-desist letter to the City of Helena about their resolution to limit police involvement in ICE operations.

Recently, the City of Helena took their resolution to vote to decide whether they would put up a legal fight or abandon the policy.

City of Helena Votes to Keep or Rescind Resolution

Back in January, the City of Helena passed Resolution No. 21062 which had Helena police 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."

The move triggered a wave of responses from state officials including that cease-and-desist letter from AG Knudsen and criticism from Governor Gianforte.

"This resolution is clearly designed to obstruct federal law enforcement operations," Gianforte told Fox News, "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."

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Yesterday, however, Helena officials voted 4-1 to scrap the resolution according to Montana Free Press. As a result, Helena police will need to cooperate with federal operations as requested. According to Helena officials, the move was to protect themselves from hefty fines and having to go through an extensive legal battle with the state.

"I will be honest. This has been infuriating," Helena Mayor Dean said during the conference according to Montana Free Press.

"I am more concerned than ever about the state overreach and telling Montana communities what they can and can’t think, the values they can and can’t have."

In response to the City of Helena's decision to rescind the resolution, Governor Gianforte took to Facebook to share his thoughts.

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"In Montana, we banned sanctuary cities to keep our communities safe," Governor Gianforte said on his Facebook page.

"The City of Helena made the right decision to rescind its resolution and allow the Helena Police Department to continue its cooperation with federal immigration authorities."

What do you think? Did Helena make the right decision? Share your thoughts with me HERE.