· Billings Gazette · By Associated Press · From the Border Crossing Law Firm media archive.
A Montana judge partially blocked LR-121 while allowing much of the voter-approved law to remain in force. The court prohibited the state from using a federal benefits-verification system to decide whether someone was violating immigration law and blocked the law's overbroad definition of an illegal immigrant. Shahid Haque called the ruling a partial victory while the larger constitutional case continued.
The order was the first significant court result in the Montana Immigrant Justice Alliance's challenge. The affidavits Shahid gathered from lawful residents helped show why a person's past manner of entry could not determine their present legal status.