Brits should get ID cards in a major immigration overhaul post Brexit, a think tank claims
ALL British citizens should get ID cards post Brexit as part of a sweeping overhaul of the immigration system, a think tank says today.
The influential Policy Exchange claimed extending a documentation programme from 3.6million Europeans living here to all British citizens could help tackle illegal immigration and would avoid another Windrush scandal.
David Goodhart, the think tank’s head of demography, immigration and integration, said the scheme could be widened to Britons, at first on a voluntary basis.
He said a lack of ID cards, the UK’s open labour market and the English language made Britain a magnet for illegal immigrants.
He added: “We strongly recommend reopening the debate about ID management to reassure people that we know who is in the country, for how long, and what their entitlements are.
“A proper national ID system would have prevented the harassment of the Windrush victims.”
But he also urged ministers not to water down the Government’s so called “hostile environment” policy – branding it simply border control.
The Border Audit: A Post-Windrush Review also called for more border patrol boats and a more “decisive” removals process, that gets people out before they can judicially review their cases.
An amnesty for illegal immigrants who have been in the UK for 10 years or more is also suggested.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid has already announced that EU citizens already living in Britain must pay £65 and join a registration scheme if they want to stay in the UK post December 2020.
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A £5 billion national identity card scheme was introduced by the last Labour government in 2006.
A bill to scrap it was the first legislation introduced by Theresa May when she became home secretary in 2010.
A Home Office spokesman said: “We are pursuing an ambitious programme of reform at the border as well as investing in new capability to improve passenger experience.
“Decisions on the future immigration system will be based on evidence.
The Sun Says
Leaving the European Union is a chance for Britain to up its game.
Nowhere is that more true than on our borders, as we take back control of them from Brussels.
We will have to introduce a new system not just for EU nationals visiting the UK but for the more than three million European citizens who have made their home in this country.
But it’s an opportunity to fix the whole thing, and today’s Policy Exchange report offers plenty of ways to do that.
Some of it is common sense. It makes no sense that ferry or rail passengers don’t have to give the same basic info to the Authorities as plane arrivals do.
It should go without saying that failed asylum seekers should be sent home quickly, without endless costly judicial reviews at taxpayers’ expense.
And to avoid another Windrush scandal we must give official papers to those who have been here for years — especially Ugandan Asians, who came in the ’70s and are most likely to be without.
Other recommendations require a bit more thought.
But at least Policy Exchange are doing some thinking about Britain’s future.
On the other hand, the Government is turning drift into an art form.
Even the much-ballyhoed, super-charged no deal plans that were supposed to be released one-by-one this summer are being quietly shuffled away until one day in late August.
Former Brexit Minister Steve Baker is right to be “alarmed and worried”.
The PM’s Chequers fudge is a direct result of our lack of planning, and until we’re ready to go it alone, Brussels will force us to make more concessions.
We must see Brexit as an opportunity, and take full advantage.
But the clock is ticking.