The Helena City Commission is considering a $53,000 federal grant for security cameras at City Hall, the Law and Justice Center, and Helena Municipal Court. The cameras themselves aren't the problem — city leaders have wanted them for over a year to keep courtrooms and public buildings safe. The problem is what comes attached to the money.

The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and includes a 15-page contract full of confusing legal terms. Buried in that contract are conditions requiring cities to comply with federal immigration enforcement policy and to avoid "diversity, equity and inclusion" programs. Even Helena's own City Attorney admitted the language is "not well-written" and hard to pin down.

Nearly 90 minutes of public testimony on September 15 made one thing clear: residents don't want their city quietly signing away cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) just to get security cameras. Commissioners Melinda Reed and Julia Gustafson agreed the risk wasn't worth it. As Reed put it, "We were elected to represent people, our community has spoken clearly, we don't know what we are committing ourselves to, and I, in good conscience, cannot vote yes on that."

The commission voted to table the grant instead of rejecting it outright, leaving the door open for it to come back later. Residents have already offered to help cover the $53,000 cost themselves rather than risk tying Helena to federal immigration enforcement.

Helena's City Commission should reject this grant for good — safety upgrades shouldn't come with strings that could turn city buildings into tools for ICE. Sign the petition to tell the Helena City Commission: keep our cameras, not federal immigration strings attached.