HELENA — The Montana Supreme Court has barred state employees from reporting to federal authorities the immigration status of people seeking state services.
The court’s unanimous decision Tuesday strikes down the last remaining piece of a voter-approved law meant to deter people who are in the country without legal permission from moving to Montana.
The law would have denied services to people who arrived in the U.S. illegally. It was approved by 80 percent of voters in 2012 and immediately challenged by an immigrant-rights organization.
A Helena judge rejected most of the law as unconstitutional in 2014. The Supreme Court upheld that ruling, and went further to strike down a remaining provision requiring state workers to report to immigration officials the names of applicants who are not in the U.S. legally.