@john65pennington – Unfortunately, it is all about money. Business owners and even private citizens want cheap labor and they get it through hiring illegal immigrants.
To answer your question, I do think they should have a right to ask for a green card, as part of a routine traffic stop, etc… however, I don’t think they should be able to stop someone on the street or for no real reason, other than to find out if they are legal or not.
If they are illegal, what can you do about it? Call ICE? They will just tell you to release them. Catch and release is common, where there is a large illegal immigration population. We need officials that will actually follow the laws we have in place. If someone commits a crime (entering the country illegally or remaining after a visa expires) then they should be punished for that crime.
My hometown, Hazleton, has been in the middle of the illegal immigration debate, for the past few years. I’ve personally seen what happens to a community, when there is unregulated immigration. I’ve had only two crimes committed against me, since moving back to Hazleton. Both were by illegals. Does this bias my opinion? Yes. But, I’m only human.