Q and A: Identity cards and Immigration

By Dominic Casciani
BBC News Online community affairs reporter

Home Secretary David Blunkett says he wants to introduce a national identity card. But many minority community campaign groups are worried about how it will effect their communities.

The home secretary has linked ID cards to illegal immigration - what's his argument?

David Blunkett says he believes ID cards are essential to tackle illegal immigration. He freely admits he has no idea how much illegal immigration there is in the UK because by it is very nature, it is a clandestine.

It's extremely difficult to even define what it means. At one end of the spectrum there are people trafficked to work in the sex industry. At the other, there is the visa-less backpacker working in the local pub, funding their travels but nevertheless, not paying their taxes.

So how does Mr Blunkett think ID cards will help tackle illegal immigration?

Mr Blunkett says there is no way of establishing what people are entitled to. If someone turns up at a hospital, how does the NHS know that person is eligible for care, the argument goes.

Mr Blunkett says a sophisticated ID card system would crack this because authorities would theoretically have the means to check.

So would the cards affect illegal immigration?

Mr Blunkett says yes - but a range of campaign groups, academics and community organisations say no.

Habib Rahmen of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants says there is simply no evidence to support Mr Blunkett's claims.

"Identity cards are not a solution to the problems of illegal immigration that Mr Blunkett is talking about," says Mr Rahmen.

"He says he doesn't know how many people are working in the black economy. IN that case, if there is clearly a demand for people to work then he should open up legitimate avenues rather than having a fortress mentality which reinforces the black economy."

Mr Rahmen said he believed Mr Blunkett's proposals were no different to previous flirtations with identity cards by Conservative governments. On each occasion, he says, the plans had ultimately been ditched.

So why do opponents see so many problems with immigration and identity cards?

Heaven Crawley, associate director of migration and equalities at the Institute of Public Policy Research, said the problem is nobody is quite sure what the government is trying to achieve.

"If this is about the impact that people have on public services and their costs then entitlement cards may be one way to do it. But we don't actually know what the impact of illegal immigration is on the NHS.

"What David Blunkett appears to be talking about is tackling illegal immigration and cards would not make these people go away because they tend not to access services in the first place. "The downside of this is, do we want to have an underclass of people who are ill because they can't use hospitals and don't send their children to school?"

So what are the major concerns of minority groups?

Firstly, there is a widespread belief that, intentionally or not, identity cards would single out Britain's minority communities.

"As with all civil and criminal legislation, it is the minority communities who are most affected," says Layli Uddin of the Forum Against Islamophobia and Racism (Fair).

"The UK's burgeoning Muslim community are already wearied by having to fend off malicious accusations of harbouring terrorist sympathies.

"They will perceive this as a further assault on their communities, because it will grant law enforcement authorities the power to subject them to closer scrutiny and harassment."

What in particular is the concern with policing?

Milena Buyum of the National Assembly Against Racism predicts ID cards would become linked to continuing controversies over stop and search powers.

"Five years after the Macpherson report into the death of Stephen Lawrence we still have disproportionate use of stop and search powers by the police against minorities," says Ms Buyum. "Identity cards would simply become another tool to harass black communities because they would be singled out to produce them."

But surely cards would help the state differentiate between the legal resident and the illegal immigrant?

On a practical basis, many people are extremely sceptical as to whether the government would be able to identify illegal immigrants.

By definition, they effectively live outside of mainstream society. Most of the time their employment is cash-in-hand jobs, such as the rise in seasonal agricultural labour. Quite simply, if these people are not in the system already, would ID cards make them any more identifiable?

Another related theory suggests that identity cards would protect the settled migrant because he or she would be able to prove they are "bona fide" members of society.

Milena Buyum of Naar rejects this: "When people are attacked in the street, I don't think their immigration status matters to the racist attacker," she says.

"The backdrop to all of this is that more needs to be done to combat racism and recognise the rights of all people who live in the UK. Identity cards won't stop racism."

So the Home Secretary will face a battle?

Although minority communities don't speak with one voice, there is significant opposition to identity cards.

Experience shows it takes minority communities a long time to be fully accepted by the rest of society. Some groups will clearly regard identity cards as another obstacle.

So, if ID cards are on their way, expect some vocal opposition.