STERLING HEIGHTS (WWJ) -- A Metro Detroit-area mayor is not happy with President Donald Trump and his federal immigration enforcement push across the country, and here in Michigan.
Talking about the matter for half-an-hour during this week's city council meeting, Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor spoke out against ICE and the actions of ICE officers in other states using physical force against protesters, detaining a U.S .citizen, and shooting and killing Renee Good in Minnesota.
Taylor — who is a Republican — is calling for policy reform, saying he would like to restrict connections between local police department and federal law enforcement.
"I don't want to be in partnership with federal policing agencies who have been militarized to terrorize on peaceful communities throughout this country," Taylor said. "We have four police officers that work fulltime that are on lone to the FBI, or the Drug Enforcement Agency, or other federal agencies. I want those officers back in Sterling Heights."
Taylor spoke specifically about recent ICE activity in Sterling Heights that left him "very deeply disturbed" and "distressed."
He described a Jan. 9 incident in which a driver was pulled over by a Sterling Heights police officer for a traffic violation. The driver wasn't able to provide a Michigan driver's license, but did provide show a foreign ID.
When the officer ran the ID and nothing came up, he contacted Border Patrol, per city policy. It turned out the driver had a "felony reentry" warrant, and Border Patrol arrived to arrest him.
What Mayor Taylor takes issue with: He says three other people who were in that car were also picked up by Border Patrol.
"My concern is there were three passengers in that vehicle who were not suspected of doing anything wrong; they of course did not violate any traffic ordinances. However, the officer asked them to provide their identification — and they did provide their identification," Taylor said. "Now, unfortunately for them, they did not realize, probably they did not realize, that the officer's request was jus that: a request."
When Border Patrol arrived, Taylor said: "They were put into a van, they were detained, they were driven away, they were taken to a facility where they may or may not get due process. In all likelihood, they will not receive due process, despite our United States Constitution, and they will be deported."
Taylor wants to remind Sterling Heights residents that they are not required to show ID when they are passengers in a vehicle.
"They are protected under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution," Taylor said. "And the officers did not suspect them of doing anything wrong. They had no probable cause; they had no reasonable suspicion."
Taylor said it's his belief that the Trump Administration "does not care about the U.S. Constitution."
Taylor continued: "The current regime does not care about the laws. The current head of the regime has said he doesn't care particularly about international law; international law is meaningless to him.
"He's guided by his own morality, which we know is nonexistent. Not only is it non-existent, he's amoral," Taylor said. "...He has no empathy. He has no kindness. He has no decency. He has no respect for the rule of law, and you see it in the streets of every city where he's deployed his stormtroopers over these past several months.
"So while for the last 16 years I was content to say: 'Police officers, do your thing, get the bad guys, if people are here without authorization, they run that risk. They have due process rights. The courts and the legal system will figure it out.' But that's not the case anymore.
"Not only is it not the case anymore when our police department hands people over to Border patrol or ICE or Homeland Security, we are deliberately putting them in harm's way."
While there has been no notable concentration of immigration enforcement activity in Sterling Heights, the city or more than 134,000 people is a potential target for ICE. Census data shows the Detroit suburb has one of Michigan's highest immigrant populations, with roughly 27 to 28% of residents born outside the U.S.
It's also been recognized as the safest big city in Michigan, based on 2024 FBI crime data.