‘Papers, please!’ Harsher laws for immigrants could mean Nazi-style ID checks for British citizens
Prove who you are: Theresa May and David Cameron check the credentials of two police officers, to ensure they aren’t illegal immigrants. No, not really – but don’t be surprised if police checkpoints start appearing everywhere with people in peaked caps demanding your papers, just like in Nazi Germany during the 1930s and 40s!
Theresa May has responded to criticism of her policies on immigrants by revealing her plans for the latest Immigration Bill – countering a threat that is perceived to be much worse than the reality.
Experts say this will require a system of identity checks for everyone, requiring British citizens or those with permanent residence to prove that their own presence in the UK is legal.
In a move that seems designed to appease the Daily Mail and its readers, she wants banks to check the immigration status of people applying to open accounts, and private landlords to make similar checks on their tenants.
You will notice that this means the government wants other people to carry out its responsibilities.
The Home Secretary also intends to “streamline” the appeals process in immigration cases. Under the current government, this word generally means “make less fair”, and this is borne out by a passage stating the measures aim to “deport foreign criminals first and hear their appeal later”. In such circumstances, how can we be sure they really are criminals?
There will also be a requirement for temporary migrants like overseas students to contribute towards NHS costs. This is not necessarily a bad thing – although it would be unfair if this money found its way to the private companies now infesting the NHS, rather than the public service itself.
But there will be no tightening of border controls, no “streamline” for bureaucratic deportation procedures, and no measures to tackle forced labour or lack of enforcement of the minimum wage.
Immigration Minister Mark Harper was quoted on the BBC website, saying: “The law must be on the side of people who respect it, not those who break it.” Fine words from the man who was unable to say whether flak-jacketed immigration officers had discriminated against people of ethnic minorities when they carried out their spot-checks at railway stations in August.
The BBC article also quotes Don Flynn of Migrants’ Rights Network, who reiterated that evidence contradicts the view that immigrants are attracted to the UK by benefits and free services; and Dr Richard Vautrey of the BMA, who said a system is already in place for hospitals to recover the cost of treating patients who are not eligible for NHS care – and introducing a system for GPs could be a “bureaucratic nightmare”.
The Guardian tells us the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA) has warned Theresa May her plan, for millions of private landlords to face “proportionate” fines of up to £3,000 if they fail to conduct checks on the immigration status of new tenants and other adults living in their properties, is unworkable.
“British citizens, European economic area nationals and third country nationals alike would be required to produce identity documents at many turns in a scheme that would be intrusive, bullying, ineffective and expensive and likely racist and unlawful to boot,” said the ILPA response.
And the Residential Landlords Association said landlords would need to know about a potential 404 types of European ID documents, in order to operate the scheme – saying some landlords would refuse to house migrants, for fear of falling foul of the new rules – and isn’t that the point of the exercise?
The Guardian quotes Habib Rahman, of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, who predicted that “these measures will divide society, creating a two-tier Britain, a return to the days of ‘No dogs, no blacks, no Irish’ and of ill people with no access to healthcare walking the streets of Britain. This bill is a travesty and must be stopped,” he said.
BBC home affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani tells us the ultimate goal is increased public confidence in the system.
But if we are doing all the work ourselves, why should this add up to increased confidence in the government?
Reblogged this on kickingthecat.
I have quite bad memories of the many times I travelled from Amsterdam to places in Germany. At the borders, the German border guards boarded the trains and barked “Ausweise bitte!” (Passports please!) at everyone. In this context, ‘bitte’ is a form of command. Don’t let this dangerous (slippery slope) practice into the UK, bitte!
As much as I disagree with anything this government says or does, especially Teresa May – I believe the only way forward now is to have identity cards and have to carry them everywhere. People did it during the last world war and it didn’t bother them, it was an inconvenience at first, but soon became part of their daily routine.
Now we are fighting a war on terrorism and know that at any time this country could have attacks on it again and I fear it will be sooner rather than later as the immigration is out of hand here, and we have the Bulgarians and the Romanians coming at the end of the year. They are going to cause more hardship but one thing is for certain, they will cause more crime as they abide by no laws.
I have absolutely nothing to hide, I am a subject of her majesty, a citizen of the UK – although that may change if we get the Yes vote in Scotland – I don’t break any laws and have never done so, I am disabled and on benefits of which I am ashamed of and other than that, I live a very quiet life with my husband who is also disabled. I am sure that millions of people in the UK are just like me but without such a boring life :) and those who work.
I really do believe that identity cards are the next step we need for out of control immigration, illegal immigrants, sweat shops, drug suppliers, forced prostitution, ect. etc.
Would anybody like to put forward an alternative view to jaypot’s?
Why should everybody be bothered because of a handful of terrorists and some immigrants, most of which just want a better life?
“I believe the only way forward now is to have identity cards and have to carry them everywhere.”
Yeah, and road blocks and check points at all intersections – can’t be to careful were security is concerned.
And please correct you name, you’ve written “jaypot”, instead of “crackpot”.
Don’t get personal!
The war on terror is a farce thought up to give America control of oil reserves in countries such as Iraq.
Might I also remind you that many of the acts of terrorism committed in this country were conducted by British citizens so I fail to see ID cards as a solution.
jaypot2012, if I have to show my papers at a checkpoint, just going from A to B, then we’ve lost! International terrorists, arms dealers, money launderers and pimps aught to be stopped at the border! And banged up with the politicians and bankers who are laughing, all the way to the bank.
You’re right about sweatshops and forced prostitution, but I’d rather have the Health and Safety Executive and the Vice Squad than the Gestapo.
Thanks for posting though, keep reading and writing.
Why are you ashamed of being on benefits.
I always thought that the police were there to uphold the law and catch criminals, yet there in the photograph, are two of the biggest lying, thieving, corrupt, fraudulent, racist, fascist, treacherous, scumbags ever to breath in the British air. Hypocrisy or what.
ID cards are NOT the way forward. The system Labour wanted was highly flawed and prohibitively expensive. And guess what? Cameron and co binned soon after coming to power. They will not bring them back. Forcing people to carry papers and ID cards is making this seem like Nazi Germany. We are not that. We are an alleged democracy. If we are using papers and ID cards as a way to weed out illegals then that is cheap shot those individuals and it’s using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Do you seriously think jaypot that Joe Public belives ID cards/papers are fair on them?
ANY scintilla of confidence in the Government would be an Increase…
As for Jaypot’s ideas:
The War on Terror is an illusion,dreamed up by Authoritarians to get the populace to accept ever tighter restrictions on our freedoms and to justify waging War on Iraq to:
A: Guarantee US Fuel Supplies
B: Ensure the strength of the US Dollar- Saddam was deposed,NOT because he was a Tyrant but because he was threatening to sell his Crude Oil in currencies Other than the Dollar.
This claim that “If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to Fear” is, at best Disingenuous. If that was true, why have the Politicians spent so much time, effort and OUR money trying to hide their activities from the public?
I have nothing to hide; why should I have to prove it?
I don’t carry any id round with me, I’m white british but so what? why should I prove who or what i am, if anyone ever asked me for ID I would look at them with contempt and walk away!!!! I aint jumping through no hoops!!!!
In this country we have, birth certificates, national insurance numbers, national health numbers, bank accounts, credit cards, account cards, driving licenses now with photos,some have passports, work records, school records, a provable family history, and a ton of other types of ID. A ID card will not stop terrorism, because the only real terrorists in this country, sit in the house of the privileged on the banks of the Thames. A great socialist stopped terrorism in this country, when she had the guts to sit round a table with the culprits and sort it out. You could ask what causes terrorism, could it be prats like the two in the photo? who invade sovereign states to steal that states resources, and murder innocent men, women, and babies, rather than sit round a table and do a deal. If Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, etc etc all got together and decided to invade Britain for its resources, and rid the citizens of the fascists tyrants in government, and we people fought back what would we be? freedom fighters or terrorists. Terrorism only exists in the minds of the government, because they cause it, it gives them the excuse to steal even more taxpayers money to fight their phoney war and bring out another form of control. Mo Mowlam stopped terrorism in this country, then Bliar through greed and corruption brought back another states freedom fighter. I had a go Mike but I’m not as eloquent as you.
“Will you accept my union membership card or my Tesco Clubcard? Nope, can’t find the Clubcard, union card’s in the wrong (pre-divorce) name, and my library card’s expired.”
“Driving licence?”
“No, can’t drive.”
“Passport?”
“Don’t have one: never go abroad.”
“Nectar Card? Labour party membership card?”
“I’m sorry madam, I’m going to have to take you to the airport and put you on the next plane out of the country.”
“But I was born here!”
“Ah, but you can’t prove it!”
Eloquent enough :-)
Making it impossible to obtain a driving licence won’t stop illegal immigrants driving. If they’ve the bottle to go under the radar they’ll not worry about little inconveniences like driver’s license & insurance & MOTs.
Do illegal immigrants have UK bank accounts? It may be a doddle slipping past the border agency but legal residents have to jump through hoops to open a bank account and provide a back story from when they left the womb. How does someone with iffy credentials manage?
I imagine any landlord trying to do what the border agency can’t will be charged with racial discrimination.
I thought the driver’s licence issue was about whether they had a licence in the first place and if so, whether it was valid & could be used to check status. If not – out they go.
Your comment on bank accounts is relevant, and I think landlords will start refusing people from certain ethnic groups as a result, courting accusations of racism.
On WATO Ms. May was bigging up Immigration bill by denying “rights to driving licenses & bank accounts” to illegal immigrants in addition to forcing landlords to verify their details.
*Thought – would people taking in lodgers be defined as landlords & expected to comply?
We have photo IDs Jaypot when did you last check a driving licence or Passport?
The real task is return control of our MPs and local councils to us, the public. Not the scheming greedy lying self righteous expense stealing fraudulent career aware money grabbing rotten stinking politicians infesting our country with their divisive tactics to keep us occupied whilst they involve us wars, allow bankers to free with uncontrolled bonuses and ensure we watch each other not them
Reblogged this on thepositivevoice.
“The public does not support tougher restrictions on foreign nationals coming to Britain, but wants existing immigration rules to be properly enforced, a survey has disclosed.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/public-sceptical-of-need-for-tougher-immigration-rules-as-theresa-may-is-set-to-publish-new-bill-8869833.html
Great photo, caption contest? Right, you’re nicked.
Photo caption contest.
Mr and Mrs Smith is it?
Hey sarge this trollop has given a different address
Caption: “as you can see Madam,the Red Light shows that your alcohol Level exceeds the Legal Limit.I am therefore arresting you for Legislating under the influence of Alcohol. You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in Court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.”
Reblogged this on Beastrabban’s Weblog and commented:
In this piece, Mike reports and comments on the Coalition’s further attempts to turn Britain into a surveillance society through attempts to force landlords and banks to check the immigration status of customers and tenants. Overseas students would also be responsible for NHS costs for treatment. There are also plans to streamline the deportation appeals process, which Mike believes will, if current practice is any guide, actually mean that the deportation process will become even more unfair. On the other hand, the government has absolutely no intention of increasing border controls, or combat the forced labour or lack of enforcement of the minimum wage under which illegal immigrants have literally been enslaved. The Migrants’ Rights Network has declared that the evidence refutes the government’s argument that immigrants are drawn here by Britain’s ‘generous’ benefits system. The BMA has also said that any system for recovering treatment costs from those not eligible for NHS care would be nightmarishly bureaucratic. The Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association has condemned May’s plan to fine landlords not performing the immigration checks up to £3,000 as unworkable, and ‘intrusive, bullying, ineffective and expensive and likely racist and unlawful to boot’. The Residential Landlords’ Association is also worried about the potential to introduce a 404 type European ID document as part of the scheme. They fear that some landlords would refuse to house immigrants because of fear of being penalised by the government for infringement of this legislation. This has been the fear of such schemes for a very long time, and I intend to blog about this in my next post. In the meantime, a spokesman from the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants has also attacked the scheme for threatening to divide Britain into a two-tier society, and returning to the days of ‘No dogs, no blacks, no Irish’, and refusing health care to those in genuine need.
Reblogged this on HUMAN RIGHTS & THE SIEGE OF BRITAIN POLITICAL JOURNAL.
Interesting that Female Cabinet Ministers seem to be more macho than their male counterparts