[tobyhill]

Just out of Curiosity;

If you were law enforcement and saw "Jose" picking asparagus what would your approach be to asking "Jose" if he's legally here? If you say to ask "Jose" to see paperwork when all he was doing was picking asparagus would "Jose" be legally obligated to show you? If "Jose" was legal but because he was told "consequences" for not showing paperwork with the thought he was illegal, would that be a violation of his constitutional rights being he was just picking asparagus?

[lemura]

If "Jose" was legal but because he was told "consequences" for not showing paperwork with the thought he was illegal, would that be a violation of his constitutional rights being he was just picking asparagus?

Of course, you're perfectly correct - LEOs just can't walk around demanding to see the ID of anyone they choose. The key here is probable cause: loitering (it's why picket lines walk in circles), broken taillights, jaywalking; ya know, the whole Guiliani 'broken windows' approach to petty infractions/crime.

In this case, someone minding their own business working in the fields would not constitute probable cause. A more effective approach would be to investigate employers to see if they were following mandated I-9 verfication processes.

[brytlea]

I have no idea, since of course, I'm not law enforcement. But, I suspect what you are trying to say is we can't do anything about illegal lettuce pickers. Is that your point?
susie