Montana Governor Announces Formal Investigation Into Helena, City Officials Respond

The City of Helena has found itself at odds with the State of Montana after passing a city resolution that distances the city's police department from federal agents.

The resolution caught the attention of Governor Gianforte, who announced a formal investigation into the city which then resulted in a response from the city of Helena.

City of Helena Passes Resolution Pertaining to Police Involvement In ICE Operations

In case you missed it, on January 26, the city of Helena passed Resolution No. 21062: 'A Resolution Memorializing City of Helena Policy When Federal Immigration Enforcement Actions Are Present Within City Limits.'

According to Section 1 of the Resolution:

The Commission supports the Helena Police Department’s policy to enforce its own public safety and protection laws and ordinances, and the avoidance of 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 Resolution is made up of five total sections with the fourth specifically addressing masks on ICE agents:

The Commission supports the actions of the City of Helena Police Department to request the identification and unmasking of each Department of Homeland Security officer when, in the Helena Police Department officer's sole discretion, the officer feels it will not be interfering with the actions of federal officers exercising their jurisdiction.

The State of Montana then issued their own response.

Governor Gianforte Addresses Helena's Resolution About ICE & Police

In a video of a press conference shared to Facebook, Governor Gianforte addressed Helena's Resolution and announced a formal investigation.

"Recently, the Helena city commission passed a resolution that raises serious concern about their compliance with the state law," Governor Gianforte said, "This resolution appears to limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration agents, potentially a direct violation of our sanctuary city ban."

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Signed back in 2021, Montana banned "sanctuary cities" from being allowed in Montana and can be found in Montana Code Annotated 2-1-601 to 605.

"Yesterday, I wrote a letter to the attorney general Austin Knudsen, to formally request that the Montana Department of Justice open an investigation into these matters," Gianforte continued.

"Today, we are announcing a formal investigation into recent actions taken by the City of Helena that may be in violation of state law."

The City of Helena Responds To Governor Gianforte's Investigation Announcement

In a statement released on (Wednesday) February 11th, the City of Helena released a statement addressing Governor Gianforte's announcement.

"The City of Helena is aware of an announcement from Governor Gianforte’s Office regarding a potential investigation into the City’s recently adopted Resolution No. 21062," the release says.

"At this time, the City has not received any official notice or formal communication from the Governor’s Office or the Montana Attorney General’s Office regarding this matter. As a general practice, the City does not provide comment on pending or potential litigation matters."

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In their statement, the City of Helena then reassured they took all appropriate steps to follow all applicable laws.

"The resolution was drafted with careful consideration of applicable local, state, and federal law, and the City believes the resolution is consistent with those legal requirements," the City of Helena says.

"The City remains committed to upholding all applicable federal and state laws."