Gallatin County Commissioner Describes Scalding Letter from AG as “Political Theater”
Commissioner supports County Attorney's efforts to protect Gallatin County and says "Congress needs to get off their butt and do their job" to reform the immigration system
By Keila Szpaller, Daily Montanan
Wednesday, Attorney General Austin Knudsen sent a letter to the Gallatin County Commissioners criticizing a legal opinion — which Knudsen put inside quotations as “legal opinion” — by Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell.
The April 24 opinion from Cromwell argued against entering into an agreement with ICE to detain undocumented immigrants from across the state at the Gallatin County Detention Center.
Cromwell said doing so would raise constitutional and legal questions and potentially cost taxpayers millions of dollars.
The Trump administration has been aggressive in pursuing, and in some cases deporting, immigrants nationwide, including in Montana, as the president pledged to do in his campaign.
In March, MTN News reported that ICE detained 17 immigrants it described as undocumented in Bigfork.
In some cases, judges have found authorities under Trump acted without due process and deported people illegally, including legal immigrants and even U.S. citizens. A New York Times analysis said illegal deportations are difficult to undo.
But immigration is a political hot button, and in his criticism of the Gallatin prosecutor, Knudsen said the American people sent Donald Trump back to the White House “to secure our border,” and Montanans want state officials to support his agenda, “not undermine it.”
“If someone has an immigration issue, that does not make them inherently a criminal under American federal law”
“At its core, the Cromwell Opinion is an endorsement of the disastrous open border policies of the Biden administration,” Knudsen said in his letter.
In a 2024 report, the Pew Research Center said unauthorized immigrants hit a 12.2 million peak in 2007 and, after a downward trend, crept up again in recent years to 11.1 million in 2022, and likely higher since then.
“My office fought back against these destructive policies for four long years, and I refuse to stand by as feckless left-wing prosecutors attempt to subvert the will of the people and put dangerous criminals back on the streets,” Knudsen wrote.
“The cancer in the system is Congress’ inaction. So Congress needs to get off their butt and do their job”
In response, Cromwell said in a statement that Gallatin County already participates in a program, known as the federal 287(g) program, that ensures “undocumented individuals charged with a crime in Gallatin County are immediately flagged and held for ICE.”
The 287(g) program authorizes local law enforcement officials to perform specific immigration duties under the agency’s oversight.
“Given constitutional concerns regarding due process, significant legal liability, and added strain on overburdened County resources, I stand by my legal opinion, which advises the Commission against entering into an additional agreement with ICE to detain non-local undocumented immigrants in the Gallatin County Detention Center,” Cromwell said.
Her legal opinion said earlier this year, a court found Suffolk County in New York responsible for $60 million in a class action lawsuit that found unconstitutional detention practices of undocumented immigrants. The county is appealing the decision, according to a local news report.
Gallatin County Commissioners said they already cooperate with ICE on immigration and will “continue to work closely with the Gallatin County Attorney, who was elected by our community.”
“And we will continue supporting the Sheriff and his dedicated team of public safety heroes,” Commissioners said in a statement.
In an interview Friday, Gallatin County Commissioner Zach Brown said under the existing agreement, Gallatin County already temporarily holds detainees for ICE to pick up when an immigration flag comes up during booking.
“That’s a legal framework that is in place and has been in place for a long time,” Brown said.
Cromwell’s opinion said 1.4% of the county jail population has been flagged for ICE holds over the last year.
Brown also said he wanted to cut through some of the rhetoric around immigration. For one, Brown said the president and the attorney general are conflating civil and criminal law — and doing so “intentionally.”
In other words, he said, local government and county law enforcement handle criminal offenses, but federal civil procedures govern people whose immigration status is questioned.
County facilities and services aren’t designed, funded or empowered to execute federal civil procedures, he said. Rhetoric, including from President Trump, implies that every illegal person is a criminal, he said, but that’s not necessarily true.
“If someone has an immigration issue, that does not make them inherently a criminal under American federal law,” Brown said.
However, he also said Gallatin County has made “record investments” in public safety, including in salaries, new positions, and equipment, and resources for the drug task force, courts, “and on and on.”
“That trajectory and commitment to law enforcement is really strong with this commission and within this community,” Brown said.
In February, MTN News reported ICE agents arrested six alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in Gallatin County. At the time, Sheriff Dan Springer told MTN News law enforcement had been working to combat the gang and had been successful given no violent incidents had been reported.
Springer could not be reached by voicemail Friday for an update.
Cromwell’s opinion said those people were held solely on ICE detainers and not on criminal charges, and the situation demonstrates the risk that counties may inadvertently hold people without due process.
Brown also pointed to statistics that show Gallatin County has the second lowest crime rate among urban counties in Montana, only behind Flathead County.
Citing the Montana Board of Crime Control, he said Gallatin had 540 incidents per 10,000 in 2023, the most recent data available, compared to 1,100 per 10,000 in Cascade County, reporting the highest number per capita.
CRIME PER CAPITA
Reported Crime incidents per 10,000 in 2023 (urban counties), according to the Montana Board of Crime Control:
Cascade County – 1,100
Yellowstone County – 887
Missoula County – 865
Butte-Silverbow – 640
Lewis & Clark County – 632
Ravalli County – 565
Gallatin County – 540
Flathead County – 487Source: Gallatin County Commissioner, citing Montana Board of Crime Control Dashboard.
Brown also said that at its root, immigration is squarely a federal issue, and an argument about a county contract, “a minor, minor issue,” is a distraction from the fact that Congress hasn’t taken action on immigration reform since 1986.
“It’s infuriating that these issues are getting talked about at the local government level. Just that, in and of itself, is political theater,” Brown said.
He said local government is at the behest of the federal government when it comes to immigration, it’s experienced whiplash upon changes in administration, and it will continue without action.
“Congress is allowing the executive branch to make policy on immigration law, and that’s not the executive’s job under the constitution and our form of government,” Brown said.
He called on Montana’s congressional delegation to legislate, and he said the dispute over the additional agreement between ICE and Gallatin County is just a symptom of the disease.
“The cancer in the system is Congress’ inaction. So Congress needs to get off their butt and do their job,” Brown said.
Montana Independent News Note
Click HERE to read the full opinion, letter and the County Attorney’s statement