· Billings Gazette · By Author not listed · From the Border Crossing Law Firm media archive.
The Associated Press explains that District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock invalidated LR-121's system for checking immigration status and denying state services because it intruded on an exclusively federal power. The court allowed a reporting provision to stand, but Shahid Haque said it had little practical significance once agencies could no longer screen or question applicants about their status.
The report places the Montana ruling within a nationwide wave of state immigration crackdowns. Shahid and MIJA's case established that a popular vote did not authorize Montana to create its own immigration classifications or enforcement system.