FIRST ON FOX: Montana’s attorney general is demanding a county reverse a policy whereby the state’s top cop denies Immigration and Customs Enforcement access to criminal justice data, warning the position is unlawful and undermines coordination with federal law enforcement, as a top local official pushed back.
Montana banned sanctuary cities under Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s pen in 2021, and that policy also allows Attorney General Austin Knudsen to enforce compliance and investigate alleged aberrations under threat of civil action against any such state agency or local or county government.
Knudsen notified Gallatin County — anchored by the city of Bozeman — that its policy stance is “legally incorrect” and that Big Sky Country is not Big Sur.
“Let me be clear: Montana is not California. This state does not embrace policies that isolate law enforcement partners or undermine the enforcement of duly enacted federal law,” Knudsen will write to Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell.
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When asked about claims her county does not recognize ICE as a criminal justice agency qualified to receive confidential criminal justice information (CCJI), Cromwell said such a claim is not accurate.
When presented with the text of an email sent from her aide to county law enforcement stating the Gallatin County Attorney’s Office does “not legally recognize Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a law enforcement agency entitled to receive Confidential Criminal Justice Information (CCJI),” Cromwell’s office responded several hours later with a lengthy release stating in part that “there is no blanket policy in Gallatin County prohibiting cooperation with ICE or any federal agency, nor is there a policy restricting the sharing of information.”
“The County Commission, not the County Attorney’s Office, is the only governing body with the authority to establish county policy,” Cromwell’s office said.
“In the specific instance raised by the Records Department in September, ICE requested nonpublic CCJI regarding an individual for a civil matter. After legal review, the civil division of the County Attorney’s Office determined that ICE, in this context, was not acting as a ‘criminal justice agency’ under Montana’s CCJI statutes because the request was civil in nature and did not fall within the statutory definition tied to the administration of criminal justice,” the statement also read, adding that the email in question should not be considered “policy.”
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In his own warning to Cromwell, Knudsen wrote that “Montana supports cooperation among all levels of law enforcement, including ICE, to ensure community safety and uphold the rule of law.”
“I write in response to your office’s determination that [ICE] is not a ‘criminal justice agency’ entitled to receive CCJI absent a court order. Your policy is legally incorrect and inconsistent with both Montana law and governing federal statutes. Montana law defines the term ‘criminal justice agency’ as a matter of statute—not local discretion,” he wrote, adding that it is not up to an individual prosecutor to make that call.
An October email from a Cromwell aide to two county law enforcement officials, obtained by Fox News Digital, described the policy that drew Knudsen’s ire.
“Good afternoon [officials], I am writing to inform you that the Gallatin County Attorney’s Office does not legally recognize Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a law enforcement agency entitled to receive Confidential Criminal Justice Information (CCJI).
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“Accordingly, ICE is not authorized under Montana law to access CCJI without a court order.”
“Therefore, ICE is only entitled to public documents. All other documents being requested should be processed like a standard CCJI request,” the email read.
When asked about the reported policy, Cromwell told Fox News Digital, “That report is inaccurate.”
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Knudsen said in his letter to Cromwell on Thursday that Montana’s legal definition of a criminal justice agency is intentionally broad to incorporate federal agencies when applicable and that ICE “plainly meets that definition.”
He went on to tell Cromwell that state law allows for an expansion of the definition of “law enforcement agency” rather than a restriction and that Gallatin’s position endangers public safety because ICE must be able to share information to keep the community safe.
Knudsen also accused the county in the letter of crafting the policy as a “deliberate effort to limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities while avoiding explicit acknowledgment.”
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“Such an approach resembles a ‘sanctuary’ policy in practice, if not in name,” he said, noting Gov. Greg Gianforte’s ban on sanctuary cities.
Knudsen then gave Gallatin until Monday to take corrective action and communicate that to him via Solicitor General Christian Corrigan — the state’s principal litigator — and to retain all documents and correspondence about the policy.
Knudsen has been involved in several nationally relevant issues, including collaborating with West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey to object to the inclusion of a controversially constructed climate change chapter in a scientific evidence manual for federal judges.
Montana’s capital, Helena, also reportedly backed down from its stance of noncooperation with ICE following legal threats from Knudsen’s office.
That move came after the city’s commissioners heard analysis from outside legal counsel that Helena could face thousands of dollars in penalties every five days if it were found to be violating the state’s ban on sanctuary policies, according to Montana Public Radio.
ICE has continued to face political and, at times, physical attacks amid the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda, with a four-figure increase in assaults and threats against ICE and CBP agents, according to information shared with Fox News Digital by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).