[ItisaReligionofPeace]

I can't remember the last time I needed to show my I.D. other than at a bar. Of course, I haven't gone to a bank for cash in years. The point you are missing is that during each of these events you were doing something by choice and were then asked for you I.D. How would you like it if you were walking down the street or sitting in a restaurant and a police officer walked around asking to see everyone's I.D.?

[Steve Eisenberg]

How would you like it if you were walking down the street or sitting in a restaurant and a police officer walked around asking to see everyone's I.D.?

First of all, the OP is a pro-illegal-alien OPINION article. So I would not take it to be an honest description of how the Border Patrol works.

Second, the police cannot protect us if they are never allowed to investigate a person without proof they committed a crime. You have a right not to be falsely convicted, but no right not be a falsely suspected. There is no other way for a civilized society to work.

Having said that, rounding up illegal aliens doesn't work well because we don't have enough holding cells, and because going to jail for a few weeks is not a big deal to them. By contrast, going to jail for a few weeks would be a very big deal to meatpacking executives or upper middle class farmers or yuppie part-time-Mommies-full-time-career gals who hire illegals to kill their chickens or be a nannie for their kids.

[SouthernFreebird]

I get stopped at these 'click it or ticket'....'booze it and loose it'... or simple licence check and they are certainly not by my own choice.

If the police are allowed to willy nilly set these operations up to check for proper ID and papers(insurance, registration) from American citizens then they can certainly set up stings in known hang-outs of illegal aliens who choose to willingly frequent the establishment.

If I visit a suspected crack house I can expect someday to be rounded up in a bust....you know that as well as I do.

[sweetliberty]

"How would you like it if you were walking down the street or sitting in a restaurant and a police officer walked around asking to see everyone's I.D.?"

You know, while I understand your point and fundamentally agree with you (I typically resent showing my ID to anybody), if this happened in Springdale, Arkansas, for example, when I happened to be up there working and I knew it was because they were trying to round up illegals....I'd be the first in line to hand them my ID and give them a pat on the back for finally doing something about a very serious problem.