Montana Governor Greg Gianforte and Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced Wednesday the state will investigate the entire City of Helena for violations of Montana’s ban on illegal immigrant sanctuary cities after the city passed a resolution restricting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
The announcement came during a joint press conference at the state Capitol, where state officials warned Helena faces fines of up to $10,000 for every five days it defies state law, along with potential loss of state funding.
The Helena City Commission passed Resolution 21062 on January 26, 2026, which states the city “shall not disclose” sensitive information about any person to outside agencies or individuals, including a person’s immigration status or national origin, except as required by local laws or with a valid court order.
The resolution also supports the Helena Police Department’s policy to “not, independently or assisting other law enforcement agencies, stop, pursue, interrogate, investigate, arrest, or otherwise detain a person solely based on their immigration status or suspected violations of immigration law.”
Gianforte said the resolution is “potentially a direct violation” of House Bill 200, which he signed into law in 2021 that outlawed sanctuary cities in Montana.
“In 2021, I signed House Bill 200 into law that explicitly bans sanctuary city policies in Montana and under this law, no state or local government may enact policies that refuse cooperation with federal immigration authorities,” Gianforte said. “Recently, the Helena City Commission passed a resolution that raises serious concerns about its compliance with state law. Together with Attorney General Knudsen, today we are announcing an investigation into this recent action.”
Montana’s law prohibits state agencies or local governments from enacting or enforcing policies that restrict government employees from “sending to, receiving from, exchanging with, or maintaining for a federal, state, or local government entity information regarding a person’s citizenship or immigration status for a lawful purpose.”
The law allows the attorney general to monitor compliance and investigate complaints. If an an investigation finds violations, the attorney general can bring civil action against the jurisdiction.
Knudsen said the investigation will determine whether Helena’s resolution and existing police department policies violate state law.
“Governor Gianforte and the 2021 state legislature ensured local governments’ cooperation with federal immigration officers and charged my office with enforcement of this law. Together, we are keeping our promise to Montanans to work with our federal partners so they can effectively do their jobs and help us keep our streets and families safe,” Knudsen said. “Today, we begin our investigation into the City of Helena following its recent misguided resolution and send a warning to every other local government to follow the law or face the consequences provided for in statute.”
“This is clearly the city council of Helena thumbing its nose at the Montana Legislature,” Knudsen said. “If the city of Helena does not like state law, I encourage it to retain counsel, get a lobbyist, come up here to the Capitol during the ’27 legislative session and take its best shot at changing the law.”