A western state’s governor and attorney general are launching an investigation into potential violations of a statewide ban on sanctuary cities and sanctuary-jurisdictional policies, pledging zero tolerance for failure to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte told Fox News Digital that he and Attorney General Austin Knudsen, both Republicans, will investigate the capital city of Helena under SB 200, which permits civil legal action and enforcement of fines against jurisdictions found in violation.
“In Montana, we don’t tolerate defiance and we support our law enforcement officers,” Gianforte told Fox News Digital.
DEM GOVERNOR IN DEEP-RED STATE CALLS FOR ICE PULLOUT, TRIGGERING CLASH OVER ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY
“While the attorney general’s initial investigation will focus on the city of Helena, we’re really sending a message to all local governments across the state: If you are found to be in violation of state law, there will be penalties.”
In response to Helena City Commissioners’ vote to prevent local coordination with federal immigration enforcement, Gianforte and Knudsen announced the decision will be investigated as a potential violation of the sanctuary city ban originally authored by state Rep. Kenneth Holmlund, R-Miles City.
Gianforte said he has “serious concerns” about the resolution’s compliance with state law and said that under the sanctuary city ban, no state or local agency may refuse to cooperate with DHS.
THIS IS HOW TRUMP CAN BREAK DEFIANT SANCTUARY CITIES
In a letter to Knudsen formally requesting his office’s cooperation, Gianforte laid out how “securing the border has been a top priority of President Donald J. Trump after the previous administration let nearly 11 million illegal immigrants enter freely into the United States under their watch.”
He referenced Trump’s mass deportation efforts and said that it is unfortunate to see “recent events” elsewhere in the U.S. that have put immigration agents in danger.
In that regard, he described a recent Helena City Council vote as ordering local officers not to get involved in actions to assist other agencies nor to detain or stop a person based on suspicion of immigration law or status infractions.
JD VANCE, ICE FLIP SCRIPT ON SANCTUARY CITY LEADERS AS ‘CHAOS’ ERUPTS ACROSS MN: ‘THIS IS DANGEROUS’
“This resolution is clearly designed to obstruct federal law enforcement operations,” Gianforte said.
Knudsen told the Flathead Beacon that Helena appears to be “thumbing its nose to the Montana Legislature” and must understand it does not make state law.
“I encourage [the city] to retain counsel [and] get a lobbyist…” he said in part.
A spokeswoman for the city of Helena told Fox News Digital it had not received any formal communication on the matter from Gianforte, and added that “as a general practice, the City does not provide comment on pending or potential litigation matters.”
“[Helena’s] 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,” she said.
“The City remains committed to upholding all applicable federal and state laws.
Knudsen’s office signaled it is only officially looking at Helena, but local reports also pointed to concerns about Missoula — the state’s second-largest behind Billings.
A spokesperson for Missoula told the Montana Free Press it has never been and is not currently a sanctuary city, while adding that its police officers do not inquire about immigration status in public interactions.
Montana governor launches sanctuary crackdown, probes capital city over ICE limits 2026 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2025 2026-02-16 16:06:14 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law










