Category: Montana

As discussed in previous posts, Montana legislators have proposed a number of anti-immigrant bills that would require the state to step into the shoes of the federal government and enforce immigration laws.  One of the most pointless bill draft requests is LC0514, which is being sponsored by Gary MacLaren.  This bill would make it a felony for a non-citizen to register to vote in a state election

If a non-citizen registers to vote in an election, the court could sentence the individual for a “term not to exceed 10 years in the state prison or may fine the offender in an amount not to exceed $50,000 or may impose both such fine and imprisonment.”  MCA § 46-18-213.

The severe punishment imposed by this law is simply not warranted.  The proponents of this bill cannot point to any instances of voter fraud by non-citizens in the state of Montana that would justify imposing such a law. The Secretary of State has not spoken out in support of this bill, and I am not aware of any state or county election official who has stated that this law is necessary.

There are already harsh federal sanctions for any alien who makes a false claim to citizenship.  These sanctions are more than sufficient to deter a non-citizen from voting in a state election.

Under INA §237(a)(6) and INA § 212(a)(10)(D), an alien who unlawfully votes in any state, federal, or local election is removable from the country and barred from being admitted into the country. The only exception is where the alien’s parents were U.S. citizens, the person resided in the U.S. before age 16, and the person mistakenly believed that he or she was a U.S. citizen.  This is an extremely narrow exception designed to prevent unfair punishment of someone without wrongful intent.

In addition, under INA § 212(a)(6)(C)(ii) and INA §237(a)(3)(D), any alien who falsely claims to be a U.S. citizen is removable from the country and barred from being admitted into the country.  Only U.S. citizens are allowed to vote, and under federal law an alien who votes in an election could be deemed to have made a false claim to U.S. citizenship.

This law unfairly singles out non-citizens who register to vote, while providing no criminal sanctions for other individuals who may not be qualified to vote.  If the sanctity of state elections requires criminal punishment for improper registration, then it should also be a felony if a person under the age of 18 registers to vote.

There appears to be no legitimate purpose to this bill, other than to further demonize non-citizens who reside in the state.

I urge you to contact your local representatives, as well as Mr. MacLaren, and voice your opposition to this absurd bill.

When you think of states embroiled in deep controversies relating to their large immigrant populations, Montana isn’t the first one to come to mind.  Perhaps this is because Montana has one of the smallest percentages of foreign-born residents in the entire United States.  This hasn’t stopped Montana legislators from proposing twenty-six different bills this legislative session that are intended to regulate immigration – a field traditionally occupied, and in many cases preempted, by federal law.  At least four of the proposed bills have text available for review.

Gary L. Perry of Manhattan, Montana has sponsored three of these bills (LC0557, LC0558, and LC0560), and David Howard has sponsored one of them (LC1909).  Each of these bills threaten to create serious and lasting divisions that would segregate and disenfranchise members of our immigrant communities.  Over the next few days, I will be discussing each of these proposed bills.  LC0558, which is sponsored by Gary L. Perry, would make it a misdemeanor or felony to transport, move, conceal, harbor, or shield any alien that you know to be undocumented.  It would also make it a misdemeanor or felony to encourage an undocumented alien to enter or remain in the state without status.  The bill would also provide for forfeiture of property belonging to anyone convicted of any of those offenses.  The intent of this legislation is to deter legal residents from interacting with individuals who they might know or suspect to be an undocumented alien, for fear of being subjected to criminal penalties and forfeiture of property.

The undocumented immigrants living in Montana are already marginalized and victimized by those who prey upon their inability to report abuses to the authorities.  This legislation would only make matters worse by making legal residents more unwilling to come to the assistance of their immigrant neighbors.This bill is modeled after the pre-existing federal statute at 8 U.S.C. § 1324.  In other words, this is already federal law, and is being enforced by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Mr. Perry apparently doesn’t believe the federal government is doing a good enough job and wants to expend state money and resources to enforce these laws as well.  Besides being a waste of our taxpayer dollars and limited law enforcement resources, this legislation is pre-empted by federal law.  The federal government has created a comprehensive scheme for enforcement of such immigration penalties, and states may not enter the field and impose their own regulations and penalties.

It is also worth noting that the proposed legislation changes the language of the federal legislation it is modeled after, and creates a presumption that an alien is undocumented as along as the “United States government” says so.  Of course, the United States government is comprised of many different agencies, most of which have no authority to determine the immigration status of an individual.  Perhaps this broad language is intended to allow the Social Security Administration to determine an immigrant’s status simply by running the individual’s social security number through their system.

This concept has been unilaterally rejected by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, because it is highly inaccurate and unreliable.  I urge each and every reader to inform their local representatives that they oppose this legislation, and any other attempt by the state to regulate immigration.  Efforts such as these are not productive in reducing undocumented immigration, but only serve to further disenfranchise our immigrant populations, many of whom are already heavily segregated from our communities.

Posts analyzing the other anti-immigrant bills being proposed this legislative session will be forthcoming.

Today I had the honor of presenting my views about immigrant rights as a human rights issue.  I spoke at a fundraising event hosted by the Montana Human Rights Network, which was held at the Myrna Loy in Helena, Montana.

I believe that too often, people tend to view immigration as a purely legal issue, and are quick to classify undocumented immigrants as no different from “criminals” who violate the law.  This simplistic view of immigration fails to take into account the human rights conditions that forcibly displace immigrants and compel them to come to the United States, with or without lawful status.  Individuals who come to the United States under these conditions are not criminals and should not be treated as such.My presentation makes the argument that human rights exist apart from the law, and are not constrained by the law as it stands at any given moment.  Further, because human rights conditions often compel undocumented immigration, the treatment of undocumented immigrants in the United States is also a human rights issue.