Missoula Mayor’s Office Manufactures ‘Misinformation’ Crisis Regarding Migrant Placements

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with the city’s Thursday morning response.

MISSOULA, MT — The City of Missoula is demanding corrections to a Western Montana News opinion piece, claiming “misinformation” about Mayor Andrea Davis acknowledging migrant placement numbers—but city officials refuse to provide actual figures when pressed for transparency.

Communications Director Ginny Merriam sent a Sunday afternoon email at the mayor’s request, demanding Western Montana News retract statements from a March opinion piece that accurately reported Mayor Davis acknowledged “over 3,000 alien migrants had been placed in Missoula over the last four years.”

Merriam characterized the reporting as “disinformation” and claimed the mayor “has never met with the Montana Veterans Association,” citing safety concerns about social media comments targeting the mayor during election season.

However, Montana Veterans Association President and CEO Samuel Pascal Redfern contradicts the city’s account, confirming that Mayor Davis did meet with MVA members at the December 13 Pachyderm Club meeting where she publicly acknowledged the ~3,000 migrant placement figure.

According to Redfern, he asked the mayor during the question and answer portion of her presentation about migrant numbers that MVA had estimated based on research collected from International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Soft Landing Missoula—both immigrant activist organizations deeply involved with placing migrants in the community. MVA also sourced information from the State Department for their estimates. Davis acknowledged the figure and endorsed the work of both immigrant activist organizations in front of other attendees.

“Five MVA board members were present at that meeting,” Redfern said, noting this was not their first encounter with the mayor, contrary to the city’s claim of only a “brief chat” where “he gave her his card.”

The city’s email specifically referenced Western Montana News’ September reporting on vandalism and harassment targeting the Missoula County Republican Central Committee during the Western Montana Fair, attempting to draw parallels between documented physical attacks on Republicans and social media comments questioning the mayor’s policy acknowledgments.

Notably, while citing safety concerns, the mayor’s office provided no concrete examples of threatening behavior—no screenshots or full quotes—only vague references to social media comments holding Davis accountable for migrant placements that occurred during her administration. Merriam’s email claimed the mayor’s concern is that “this topic is causing people around the country to take to violence,” despite providing no evidence of actual violence connected to the March opinion piece. Rather than address the policy implications, Davis appears to be avoiding her record of publicly endorsing the work of these organizations, despite Montana law prohibiting cities from declaring themselves sanctuary jurisdictions for illegal immigrants.

When pressed with follow-up questions, including what the city’s official migrant placement count actually is, the mayor’s office has not responded as of Wednesday evening despite claiming urgent concern about accuracy.

The timeline reveals additional contradictions. Just days before sending the “misinformation” correction request, Merriam told Redfern at a Wednesday city planning meeting that the mayor wanted to learn more about his organization and arrange a meeting—while seemingly simultaneously preparing to claim they had never met.

The mayor’s acknowledgment of migrant placement numbers has become politically sensitive as she faces re-election. The March opinion piece connected migrant placement to Missoula’s housing crisis, arguing that thousands of new residents competing for limited housing stock represented “transformational” pressure on the community.

Notably, Merriam’s email addressed concerns about social media comments targeting Davis “as a candidate,” despite Merriam serving as city communications director rather than campaign staff.

Rather than address voter concerns about housing policy impacts, city officials appear to be deploying “misinformation” claims as a political shield and cudgel, demanding corrections while refusing to provide the transparency needed to verify disputed facts.

The city’s silence on basic questions—particularly what the actual migrant placement numbers are—suggests this controversy has less to do with factual accuracy and more to do with controlling politically inconvenient narratives ahead of November’s election.

Officials who demand corrections while refusing accountability reveal the true purpose: avoiding legitimate policy questions by reframing accurate reporting as dangerous misinformation requiring censorship rather than clarification.

In a Thursday morning response after publication, Merriam revealed that neither the city government nor the mayor track migrant placements in Missoula, instead deferring to “Soft Landing and the International Rescue Committee” for accurate numbers. Merriam also claimed the mayor “could not confirm or deny” the 3,000 figure when Redfern presented it to her.

This admission raises serious questions about city leadership during a housing crisis. If thousands of new residents are being placed in a community with a 2.9% rental vacancy rate, how can officials make informed policy decisions without tracking those numbers?

The city’s lack of oversight suggests either willful ignorance to avoid accountability, management failure to monitor demographic changes affecting city resources, or a deliberate strategy of plausible deniability—claiming no responsibility for what they don’t officially track.

Western Montana News has sent follow-up questions to the mayor’s office regarding how the city plans for housing, infrastructure, and public services without tracking demographic changes affecting municipal resources.