· Billings Gazette · By Associated Press · From the Border Crossing Law Firm media archive.
This Associated Press report covers a Montana legislative hearing on House Bill 50, which would have required cities and towns to assist with federal immigration enforcement and barred local sanctuary policies. Shahid Haque explained that such policies do not prevent federal enforcement; they allow local police to focus limited resources on local public-safety priorities. Religious groups and other opponents also questioned the bill's cost, necessity, and effect on community trust.
The hearing came during a period when Montana lawmakers repeatedly proposed state and local responses to federal immigration policy, even though no Montana city had adopted the kind of sanctuary policy the bill targeted. Shahid's testimony reflects his broader work at the time challenging measures that could draw local government into federal immigration enforcement.