UK Home Office Set To Scrap National ID Cards

mjwx writes "In what would seem to be a sudden outbreak of common sense for the UK, the Home Office has put forward a plan to scrap the national ID card system put into place by the previous government. From the BBC: 'The Home Office is to reveal later how it will abolish the national identity card programme for UK citizens. The bill, a Queen's Speech pledge, includes scrapping the National Identity Register and the next generation of biometric passports.' The national ID card system, meant to tackle fraud and illegal immigration, has drawn widespread criticism for infringing on privacy and civil rights. However, the main driver for the change in this policy seems to be the 800-million-pound cost. Also in the article, indications of a larger bill aimed at reforms to the DNA database, tighter regulation of CCTV, and a review of libel laws."

Comments

Why the issues with illegal alien?

[AK Marc]

Judging from the news and culture coming from the UK, it seems that illegal aliens is a massive issue there. Being from the US, I don't get it. Maybe it's because the US is more lax in shipping people back to Mexico (I know people that came into the country illegally and they were not from Mexico, but given the choice of indefinite incarceration or saying "I'm Mexican" they claimed to be Mexican and were shipped back there, only to successfully cross again later). But the US doesn't round up illegals and stick them in camps for indefinite periods of time (at least I don't think they do, perhaps it's my ignorance here and we do exactly the same thing, but it isn't as publicized here), and my impression of the UK is that anyone who can't be sent somewhere else is just held indefinitely. There has to be a better way.

Or is that not what's really happening, just how it comes across in the media? Wouldn't it be cheaper to work out a plan with some poor country and pay that country to take in all the illegals to clean out the holding cells? Either integrate them (as we generally do in the US, even if technically against the law) or send them somewhere that at least is willing to integrate them. Personally, since it's apparent that people go to England and, once there, destroy all information about themselves and lie or refuse to answer questions that establish identity, I'd go for a genetic solution. "You appear to be [insert country here] from your genetic profile, so we will ship you back there." Unless you have a policy of shipping them out somewhere, you'll get more. And no, indefinite confinement isn't sufficient deterrent, as many real refugees are coming from situations worse than prison, so prison is a reward, not a punishment (and that's not a hint that prisons should be worse, just that they are bad, but not the worst possible case).