STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. — The mayor of Michigan's fourth-largest city made headlines last week by lambasting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and expressing a desire for the Police Department to sever ties with federal law agencies and change traffic stop procedures.

Not so fast, police said this week.

While city officials said the department recently "clarified" its policy to "re-emphasize" traffic stop protocol, a police spokesman told The Detroit News the revamped directive simply reiterates what officers have done for decades, and that no changes are imminent.

When asked about the mayor's comments about his proposed changes, Sterling Heights Police Capt. Mario Bastianelli told The Detroit News: "That's not going to happen."

"The mayor said these are things he'd like to see, but just because the mayor says he wishes something would happen, that doesn't mean we're going to do it," Bastianelli said. "We've had the same policy for dealing with people we stop who don't have authorization to be in this country, and nothing will change."

Sterling Heights Mayor Michael C. Taylor told The News Monday he knew when he made his speech that he didn't have enough support on the seven-member City Council to make the changes he wanted.

"Look, if you listen to my comments from the council meeting, I admitted what I’m asking for is not supported by the other council members," Taylor said. "With four votes on the council, we could dramatically change policies. But without that support, I don't see it happening. My sense is the Police Department is not going to voluntarily make drastic changes to their policies unless directed to by the City Council."

Taylor made his comments during the Jan. 20 City Council meeting, in which he blasted President Donald Trump's program to deport people who are in the United States illegally. During the speech, Taylor called ICE agents "monsters" who have been terrorizing people, and he criticized the recent fatal shootings of protesters Alex Pretti and Renee Good in separate incidents in Minneapolis.

"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 during his 22-minute speech. "We have four police officers who work full-time, that are on loan to the FBI, or Drug Enforcement Agency, or other federal agencies. I want those officers back in Sterling Heights. I want those partnerships ended, terminated."

Severing ties with federal agencies would cost the city money, Taylor conceded — "But I don't care," he said.

Taylor also said he wanted officers to inform people they stop that they're not required to produce identification if there's no warrant for their arrest.

"So I asked our police leadership, why do we do that? Why do we ask people to hand over their ID when they’ve not committed a crime ... and the response was, 'that's proactive policing' ... that you can catch the bad guys by tricking them into thinking they have to give their ID, which they're almost always going to do.

"So, I asked, 'What if we gave them warning?' ... The response was, 'We're not going to do that,'" Taylor said.

ICE and Border Patrol officials did not return requests for comment. The Michigan Association of Police, the parent organization for the Sterling Heights Police Association union, declined to comment.

Guatemalan stop incident

Taylor, a former Republican who identifies as a political independent, said his ire was raised following a Jan. 9 traffic stop, in which the officer learned the driver had a warrant for his arrest. When the cop asked the three passengers in the vehicle for their identification, they didn't have it, he said.

"They were all Guatemalan," the mayor told The News. "The officer had no way to verify who (the two passengers) were, so he provided the names to Border Patrol, which ran the names. Border Patrol says hold those four, and we'll pick them up. So the officer held them until Border Patrol showed up.

"What police are saying now is, if this happens again in the future, if someone doesn't have a warrant for their arrest, Sterling Heights Police will not detain them," Taylor said. "You're free to go as soon as the traffic stop, or whatever police action is happening, is over. That's the change in policy — but the only way that gets implemented is if the officers buy into it."

Following the mayor's speech, the city released a statement that stressed: "Sterling Heights has maintained a consistent policy regarding traffic stops: all individuals are treated equally and with respect, regardless of immigration status. Our officers do not engage in racial or ethnic profiling, nor do they participate in immigration enforcement. Our focus remains solely on addressing crime that may impact our local community.

"Our policy has recently been clarified to re-emphasize that if a driver is arrested and/or held for an outstanding warrant from another agency as a result of a traffic stop, passengers that are not involved in any criminal activity and do not have an arrest warrant, regardless of immigration status, are not held by the Sterling Heights Police Department longer than the time necessary to complete the traffic stop," the statement said. This practice is consistent with any vehicle stop that leads to a driver's arrest.

"The Sterling Heights Police Department complies with all applicable local, state, and federal laws, and this policy has proven effective in keeping our community safe and maintaining public trust," the statement said.

Despite the tweaks, nothing has changed, said Bastianelli, the police captain.

"Our policy is the same as it's been for five, 10, 20," he said.

Bastianelli said the department would continue partnering with the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal agencies.

Others weigh in

Sterling Heights Councilman Michael Radtke told The News he agrees with the mayor. While the new policy doesn't materially change anything, he said it "clarifies" protocol when encountering people who are in the country illegally.

"We used to have three general orders about these situations, and we wrote it into one order that brings further clarity," Radtke said. "If police, during the course of their duties, come across someone who's undocumented, if there's no federal warrant signed by a judge, they're not to hold the person longer than what's necessary to conduct what they're doing. ... That's been the policy forever."

The Center for Immigration Studies lists seven Michigan communities as sanctuary cities or counties that have policies to limit or refuse to cooperate with federal officials, or bar law enforcement from asking people about their immigration status: Kalamazoo County, Lansing, Leelanau County, Muskegon County, Oakland County, Washtenaw County and Wayne County. Oakland County and Wayne County officials have pushed back on the designation.

In 2017, former Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon announced he would stop complying with ICE detainer requests, citing court decisions. The office doesn't honor requests from ICE to detain prisoners beyond their sentences unless there is a written warrant from a judge.

Sterling Heights City Councilman Henry Yanez said he doesn't think the mayor's proposed changes are feasible.

"I absolutely 100% do not support the idea of breaking ties with federal agencies, " said Yanez, a Democratic former state lawmaker. "Asking questions of the officers, it seems they don't support the idea, either.

"Sterling Heights has been named by the FBI the safest big city in Michigan for several years now," Yanez said. "I wouldn't want to change any of the policing policies that might affect their ability to keep our city safe."

Taylor said he's gotten a viral response to his comments before the City Council.

"The messages have been about three-to-one supportive," he said. "But certainly, when you talk about someone as divisive as President Trump, you're going to get good and bad responses."

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