· Great Falls Tribune · By John S. Adams · From the Border Crossing Law Firm media archive.
The Great Falls Tribune gives a detailed account of the LR-121 decision, the law's legislative history, and the court's ruling that Montana could not independently determine immigration status. Shahid Haque explains why the surviving reporting provision was largely ineffective without state screening and notes that lawmakers had introduced at least 17 immigration bills over three sessions despite repeated warnings about federal preemption.
This initial report records the core legal victory Shahid had argued for from the beginning: immigration status could not be reduced to a state-created label and decided by ordinary agency staff.