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Montana Free Press has been following the story of one undocumented immigrant from the tiny, mostly conservative northeast Montana town of Froid for almost five months, ever since he was arrested by Border Patrol in January.
We wrote about Roberto Orozco-Ramirez’s arrest, the charges he faced and his community’s response. Some Froid residents stood by the side of the road in freezing temperatures to protest Border Patrol’s presence in town; others drove seven hours one-way to his court hearings. MTFP launched a pop-up newsletter, where we provided readers updates on his court cases and tracked his whereabouts as he was transported across the country in ICE custody.
And, earlier this week, we wrote about Orozco-Ramirez’s release from detention after more than 100 days and witnessed him reunite with his family.
Some have asked us why we spent so much time, and lots of reporting resources, following one undocumented immigrant. It’s a good question, especially given that Montana is home to one of the smallest immigrant populations in the country.
The answer is two-fold. First, Orozco-Ramirez’s arrest sparked a huge emotional response in his rural, conservative town, where people knew him as a dedicated diesel mechanic and a supportive parent who loved cheering on his kids during high school sports. The event forced those same residents to grapple with their complex and sometimes contradictory views on immigration. Roosevelt County Sheriff Jason Frederick, for example, told MTFP that he is “100% for immigration laws” but also that Orozco-Ramirez’s detention didn’t make sense. He said he thinks Orozco-Ramirez should be able to obtain legal citizenship. I spoke with other people who thought President Donald Trump’s national immigration crackdown would never reach their tiny, mostly white community. Some said that immigration had long felt like an abstract issue — until Border Patrol came to town.
The other reason MTFP decided it was important to follow this story is that it served as a lens through which many Montanans could ask legitimate questions about the country’s immigration system. A recent Montana Free Press-Eagleton poll found that Montanans are deeply divided on federal immigration enforcement. Yet each week, we heard from readers who wanted to know more about the process in this country to obtain legal status. Why, people wondered, hadn’t Orozco-Ramirez sought citizenship through the official route? People also wanted to understand how the criminal justice system works alongside the immigration system. And as we covered each development in Orozco-Ramirez’s case, we informed readers along the way.
We’re not done following this case or immigration news in Montana, and we’d love to hear from you. In many ways, the responses we’re getting from readers are telling us where to go next. What immigration questions would you like our reporters to answer? Thanks for reading.
— Nora Mabie
Snapshot 📸
It was powerful to witness this moment when Roberto Orozco-Ramirez, facing the camera, embraced his son, Roberto Orozco Lazcano, outside the Cascade County Detention Center in Great Falls after the father was released from custody Thursday. Reporter Nora Mabie and I have spent months following this story, but this moment will remain particularly memorable for me.
— Lauren Miller
Verbatim 💬
“My purpose with asking Lt. Gov. [Kristen] Juras to present today, I feel, has been accomplished because we’ve heard what the law is in Montana. If other people have other interpretations of it, even if it’s a judge — I don’t value the opinion of all of these judges. I think they make some poor opinions myself. And that’s my opinion, OK?”
— Rep. Paul Fielder, R-Thompson Falls, addressing the state’s Environmental Quality Council Wednesday, May 13.
Fielder’s remarks came at the conclusion of a 1.5-hour-long conversation on the state of corner crossing in Montana that followed a series of high-profile rulings in Wyoming. The Wyoming litigation drew to a close last year when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a landowner’s appeal. It has supercharged the debate in the West over the legality of corner crossing — the act of stepping across the corner where private and public land meet in a checkerboard pattern.
Juras argued that someone who corner-crosses is trespassing in the airspace above the private landowner’s property, contrary to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ interpretation of federal law. The lieutenant governor was supported in that position by the Montana Stockgrowers Association and the Montana Farm Bureau Federation. Others present at the meeting, including Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, took a different view.
“What we’re talking about today is the practical application of an individual walking from public land to public land,” BHA President Ryan Callaghan said during the public comment period. “It sounds like airspace is what we need to define. My question would be: Is that practical? We’re not talking about private property damage. We’re not talking about the physical contact of someone’s property.”
The day after Juras’ presentation, BHA filed a lawsuit challenging Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ January 2026 memo that described the practice as “unlawful” in Montana. BHA and Public Land Water Access Association are asking the Lewis and Clark County District Court to declare corner crossing legal, thereby reversing FWP’s directive to cite corner-crossing hunters for hunting without landowner permission, a type of trespassing under state law.
— Amanda Eggert
Following the Law ⚖️
A Lewis and Clark County District Court judge last week dismissed a lawsuit filed by Mr. Bail and the manager of its Billings location, Anna Yarbro, seeking to overturn the license suspension and cease-and-desist order issued by the Montana State Auditor in March.
The auditor’s office, which licenses bail bonding companies and bail bondsmen, had been investigating Mr. Bail for nearly six months before a fatal shooting in early March in Missoula involving four of the company’s employees. After that, the auditor’s office suspended its license and ordered it to cease all operations in Montana. The state also suspended Yarbro’s license and suspended and later revoked the licenses of two bail bondsmen charged in the shooting. The auditor’s office is still investigating the other two unlicensed Mr. Bail employees.
On March 4, Mr. Bail bondsmen Brandon Wakefield and Austin Mistretta, along with Mr. Bail employees Jorrell Nagel and Ryan Smith, came to Missoula to apprehend Joshua Wykle, according to charging documents. Prosecutors said Wakefield fatally shot Wykle at a Missoula gas station, and Mistretta was charged with attempted assault with a weapon, according to court documents. Both men have pleaded not guilty, and Wakefield plans to argue his use of force was justifiable.
On April 13, an attorney for Mr. Bail and Yarbro filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction to revoke the license suspension. Two days later, Judge Kathy Seeley denied the request. Last week, the company filed to withdraw its request for the injunction, which Seeley granted. The case was closed May 5.
“The court found good cause to dismiss the petitioners’ lawsuit, leaving the emergency suspension and cease-and-desist order issued by our office fully in effect,” said Tyler Newcombe, communications director for the auditor’s office, in a Monday press release. “For Montanans who expect their regulators to act quickly in situations involving immediate threats to public safety, this legal outcome should be reassuring.”
Mr. Bail’s administrative appeal of the license suspension to the state is ongoing. The auditor’s office scheduled that hearing for Aug. 14. Depending on the outcome of the investigation and hearing, the state auditor could fine the bondsmen if they are found to have violated relevant state laws, in addition to any suspensions, the auditor’s office previously told MTFP.
— Katie Fairbanks
Hot Potato 🥔
Wall Street Journal sources in the White House expected President Donald Trump to approve an executive order Monday that would have reduced beef tariffs and lowered prices for American consumers. The president, though, has yet to sign the order. Most political coalitions representing Montana ranchers, who tend about 1.2 million beef cows and are concerned about the potential for diminished profits, have in the past pushed back against lowering tariffs and increasing beef imports.
But even if Trump signed the order, or signs it in the future, the reduction of tariffs would have had a small impact on the price of beef and on Montana ranchers, according to Andrew Swanson, an assistant professor at Montana State in Bozeman with expertise in commodity markets.
“I have a really hard time seeing a major drop in prices,” Swanson told Montana Free Press this week.
On the campaign trail in 2024, Trump vowed to decrease grocery prices. Two and a half years later, the price of ground beef has reached record highs — about $6.90 per pound as of April — according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
But reduced tariffs aren’t a magic bullet, according to Swanson. The U.S. cattle herd is at its lowest in 75 years. And the Mexican border, an entry point for cattle imports, is closed to bovines over concerns about the flesh-eating New World screwworm. Both of those things, Swanson said, will keep beef prices high and bolster cattlegrowers’ bottom line, at least in the near future.
“Until the U.S. cattle herd starts rebuilding or until the border with Mexico gets opened up, those are really the things that are gonna kind of start to move prices down,” Swanson said.
— Zeke Lloyd
By the Numbers 🔢
510,529
The number of absentee ballots mailed by the Montana Secretary of State for the June 2 primary as of Friday. About 83,000 went to Yellowstone County, the state’s largest county with about 164,000 people, according to the 2020 census. And the secretary of state mailed the fewest ballots, 230, to Petroleum County, one of Montana’s smallest counties, with about 500 residents.
Montanans can also vote in person between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Montana Free Press’ Election Guide can tell you who is on your specific ballot, provide information about the candidates and answer common voting questions.
— Zeke Lloyd
Highlights ☀️
In other news this week —
- Why should Montanans care about the Republican primary race in Senate District 9? This week, MTFP contributing reporter Victoria Eavis dug into the most powerful lawmaker you might have never heard of, and why some members of the GOP want him gone.
- If you’re looking for more Montana immigration reporting, don’t miss the profile of the Roosevelt County Sheriff — and why he pushed back against Border Patrol tactics in Froid — by reporter Nora Mabie.
- How exactly could data center development in Montana impact your utility bills? Reporter Amanda Eggert interviewed a national expert to find out.
On Our Radar
Nick — When the organizers of the World Cup selected the United States, Canada and Mexico to host this summer’s tournament, I had grand visions of knocking off a bucket-list item and taking in a few matches, maybe even the final this July in New Jersey. Ticket prices, though, were initially exorbitant, roughly $700 for even the cheapest seats to see the U.S. play in the early round matches. World strife being a thing, however, ticket prices are plummeting. Silver linings, indeed.
Matt — The good people at weather.com have put together a nifty retro weathercast page that automatically syncs to your location. It runs through some basic current conditions and forecasts, and so long as there isn’t an emergency alert, be sure to turn on the audio for some truly great elevator music.
Jacob — I’ve always been interested in the logistics surrounding aviation, so a Wall Street Journal story about the scramble to repossess Spirit Airlines’ scattered fleet was right up my alley. Still, even non-aviation nerds will appreciate the absurd complexity of the operation: hastily assembled crews, airport negotiations, legal paperwork and silent final flights to an aircraft “boneyard” in Arizona.
Zeke — Loyal readers will remember my excitement last May when Anheuser-Busch reintroduced Busch Light Apple, a summer promotional beer known to fans as “Bapple.” Walking the aisles of Winco in Helena this week, I saw an island of Bapple cases that could only mean one thing: Bapple is back, baby.
Mara — Over the last few days, there has been a reality TV version of an animal kingdom feud playing out in my backyard. An incredibly committed squirrel has been trying, again and again, to breach a magpie nest in my apple tree. Why? I can’t actually say for sure. Adding even more chaos to the scene are my two dogs, who are, of course, trying to eat the squirrel every time it’s chased away by the birds. I honestly don’t know who to root for at this point.
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Lowdown is edited by Nick Ehli, with additional copy editing by Mara Silvers.
