As a matter of law ( 8 U.S.C. § 1357) warrants are not strictly required for immigration enforcement.

That may be a bad law – then run folks for the legislature to change it.

That may be unconsitutional law – then sue in court and let the lawyers hash it out.

That may be immoral law and we should support jury nulification.

But I see very little to be gained by demanding the duly designated law enforcement officers be held to some code of conduct defined by the PR concerns.

I think the most unconscionable thing is that we have given officers legal remit to “interrogate any alien or person believed to be an alien”, “to arrest any alien in the United States, if he has reason to believe that the alien so arrested is in the United States in violation of any such law or regulation and is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained for his arrest”, “within a reasonable distance from any external boundary of the United States, to board and search for aliens any vessel …, railway car, aircraft, conveyance, or vehicle” explicitly without a warrant and then have neither had the populace buy in nor curtailed the law.

Either rein in the legal remit or instruct the populace what is on the books. As is, we get the worst of both worlds.

The actual laws on the books for immigration are simply not what folks expect. And if the locals are unwilling to help enforce stuff (as is their right as I understand federalism), this only gets more troublesome.

I wish we could have some sort of compromise where the locals will make enforcing immigration law viable and we could remove some of the extraordinairy powers currently on the books. And more than anything I wish somebody, anybody would go after the employers. Jail the folks violating labor laws knowing that they create all manner of horrible situations.

And again, you want full Libertarian open borders? Then make changes to the laws via democracy. But for right now we are unwilling to touch the folks who most benefit from illegal immigrant labor, expect the feds to wisely use massive powers, and are unwilling to face these realities in popular opinion.

That is from Sure.  I would very much favor extending civil liberties in these directions, though that does not include going after the employers.