Bill Permitting Officers to Check Immigration Status Clears House, Moves to Senate
House Bill 278 would allow officers, specifically the Montana Highway Patrol, to check immigration status while requiring them to report anyone with an illegal status. The bill passed the House of Representatives Wednesday on a 60-40 party-line vote.
By Zoë Buhrmaster
A bill to allow law enforcement officers to check immigration status during a lawful stop, requiring them to report anyone with an illegal immigration status, cleared the Montana House of Representatives on a party-line vote during third reading Wednesday afternoon.
Existing law permits an officer to request the person’s driver’s license during a traffic stop. House Bill 278 would allow an officer to make a “reasonable attempt, upon reasonable suspicion and when practicable, to determine the immigration status of the person, except if the determination may hinder or obstruct an investigation.”
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Nelly Nicol, R-Billings, said the measure helps address human trafficking concerns by authorizing Montana Highway Patrol officers to check immigration status. A ruling from a 2013 court case on racial profiling, Rios-Diaz v. Montana Highway Patrol, currently prevents patrol officers from checking or detaining people to verify their immigration status.
“For one bad actor, our peace officers were limited or severely stifled on their ability to check immigration status,” Nicol said. “This is the branch that is on the highway the most, where people are trafficked through.”
Rep. Lukas Schubert, R-Kalispell, spoke out in favor of the bill, calling illegal immigration a “crisis.”
“We need to address this issue and pass all legislation that will go toward that goal,” Schubert said. “Do we want to continue to make our own citizens second class citizens by allowing the whole world to come into our country, no checks, no nothing?”
There is currently no database for law enforcement to determine immigration status, which means officers looking to inquire someone’s status would need to make a call to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or the Indian Health Service (IHS). In the event of an after-hours call or other hinderances, officers would not legally be allowed to detain a person solely to wait for confirmation.
Opponents to the bill, all Democrats, stressed that the measure would be a “time waster” for officers and “problematic for Indigenous peoples of Montana,” said Rep. Shelly Fyant, D-Arlee, adding that Indigenous people can often be misidentified.
“We’re used to being hassled,” Fyant, the former chair of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, said. “But again, our peace officers already have a really busy checklist, and this would be a burden on their time when asking for a driver’s license should be sufficient enough.”
As a concession to opponents, the House Judiciary Committee amended the bill’s original language from “requiring a peace officer to check” to “authorizing,” and from “shall” to “may.”
The bill passed with 60 representatives in favor and 40 opposed. The bill will next move to consideration by a Senate committee, needing to pass through the Senate and be signed by the governor before it can become law.