Because Montana is a northern state, not many immigrants are attracted to moving up into that region. Typically, immigrants settle in coastal state or states that line the southern border. Some of the largest immigrant populations are in states like California and Texas which border Mexico, and then coastal states like New York. While states like Alabama and Arizona have established strict immigration policies to keep their population numbers down, more and more immigrants continue to migrate across the border and into the state.

In Montana, illegal immigration is not a large issue, but it is one that State Representative David Howard wants to address. He is well known in Montana for his take-no-prisoners opinion when it comes to illegal immigration. He says that he wants to make sure that Montana stays unattractive for illegal immigrants by making the state hostile to the idea of illegal immigrants. According to Fox Latino, Howard is now pushing a new bill to tighten immigration enforcement in the state even more. This new bill calls on government agencies all throughout the state to enforce federal immigration laws strictly and without exception in the state.

The bill champions full enforcement of the already active federal laws and encourages all law enforcement agencies to avoid turning a blind eye to undocumented immigrants. If this bill is passed, Montana law enforcement will have the express duty to prosecute against any illegal men and women in the state and can take them to the court for a deportation trial shortly after discover. Howard says that some cities have barred their police officers from questioning a persons’ immigration status in any sort of police-citizen exchange, but Montana will not follow suit. Instead, he says that he wants to make sure that this law is never passed in the state. Instead, he wants to take pains to make sure that law enforcement are heavily encouraged to prosecute in situations where they may encounter an illegal immigrant.

Representative Howard says that the bill, if passed, will create a defense in Montana and will protect Montanans. He believes that if he encourages immigrants to infiltrate the state it will cost Montanans an unnecessary amount of money and will hike up taxes. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, about three percent of the entire state population of Montana is Latino residents. The majority of the immigrants who settle in Montana come down from Canada in order to become citizens in the Land of the Free. Census records say that there are about 28,565 Latinos in the state, and all other immigrants are from Canada or another continent.

Howard’s stance on immigration in Montana is in stark contrast to the actions that are being taken by many men and women throughout the nation. In fact, Montana’s stance is reminiscent of the many strict policies that were developed by men and women in the state of Arizona in 2011. About 30 state legislatures introduced more than 50 bills that called for police to check the immigration status of people who were stopped for another violation of the law or gave police permission to question a suspicious person’s immigration status.

While this was the trend in 2011, 2012 became a year that was void of immigration issues. Because many court challenges blocked the 30 states that tried to enforce strict policies the year before, only five years even attempted to make changes to their policies. The National Council of State Legislatures says that none of those bills were enacted. Immigrants located in Montana will wait breathless as the state government looks at the policies and determine what is constitutional and what is not. If you are caught in a difficult circumstance regarding immigration, you will want a hardworking and dedicated attorney on your side.