Tuesday November 25th was marked by countrywide action against the introduction of identity cards for some UK residents, namely people from outside Europe who are applying for or renewing visas for study or marriage. So-called ?ID cards for foreigners? are the first step in the Government?s plan to get everyone living in the UK fingerprinted and photographed, registered on a national database and tracked wherever we go. Protests were called by No Borders, Defy-ID and NO2ID. These protests, which are due to continue, highlight the connection between the ID Cards Act of 2006 and the UK Borders Act of 2007, the twin legislation that is putting the scheme in place. Note that Asylum seekers have already had biometric ID for several years, through the ARC card which began to be issued in 2002. Click Read more for full story. More links to local reports, pictures and videos.
Update: Monday 1st December: Yorkshire Activists blockade Sheffield Border Agency Centre (Bradford & Sheffield activists). Next, No Borders South Wales will be protesting outside the Border Agency again on Wednesday 10th December when the Cardiff office will start to register people for ID cards.
Widespread protest meets first day of biometric identity cards & database in Britain
Update: Monday 1st December: Yorkshire Activists blockade Sheffield Border Agency Centre (Bradford Against ID & Sheffield activists). Next, No Borders South Wales will be protesting outside the Border Agency again on Wednesday 10th December when the Cardiff office will start to register people for ID cards.
Tuesday November 25th was marked by countrywide action against the introduction of identity cards for some UK residents, namely people from outside Europe who are applying for or renewing visas for study or marriage. So-called ?ID cards for foreigners? are the first step in the Government?s plan to get everyone living in the UK fingerprinted and photographed, registered on a national database and tracked wherever we go. Protests were called by No Borders, Defy-ID and NO2ID. These protests, which are due to continue, highlight the connection between the ID Cards Act of 2006 and the UK Borders Act of 2007, the twin legislation that is putting the scheme in place.
Many of the demonstrations were outside UK Border Agency centres. These are key components of the ‘migration management’ infrastructure. Some act as local reporting centres where those seeking asylum have to ?sign in? on a regular basis while their claims are being processed. If applications fail they have facilities to keep people locked up before transferring them to larger detention centres. They are also the places where snatch squads leave from to conduct dawn raids on innocent families. It is vital to show the connection between ID cards and internalising of immigration controls inside the UK’s borders.
In Liverpool, a joint demo with Manchester activists was held. There, No Borders, Defy-ID and NO2ID protested outside the UK Border Agency’s offices and short-term immigration prison in Reliance House on Water Street wearing barcodes around their necks. Leaflets were given out, a megaphone was used to explain the reason for the demo and a Samba band provided rhythm. During the demo, a long queue of non-EU citizens, including many small children, snaked out the door and into the freezing cold. Three cops were also present, one who complained about being photographed.
In Solihull, Birmingham, a banner proclaiming ?Freedom of Movement for All? was held by the entrance of the UK Borders Agency office and leaflets were handed out to passersby. 3 police vans, 12 cops and an evidence gatherer were in attendance, as were a couple of environmental health council officials who seemed to have been called in to hassle demonstrators using an anti-littering By-Law. But Birmingham No Borders knew the law and it can?t be used against political leafleting.
In Newcastle, during the peak morning rush hour, four activists from No Borders North East performed a banner drop from a bridge over one of the city’s busiest inner motorways. The largest banner read ?No To ID Cards, Freedom For All!? and was accompanied by a smaller No Borders banner. This time the cops turned up and actually suggested that an anarchist symbol can be deemed offensive and thus removable under a public order act! But in fact the reaction from the drivers below was overwhelmingly positive, with many honking horns, waving and giving thumbs up. Later in the day the group took to the city centre to distribute leaflets.
Over 60 people gathered in Cardiff outside the UK Border Agency on Newport Road with placards and ?Big Brother is coming ? No ID cards? amongst the banners, organised by No Borders South Wales and joined by Bristol No Borders who together waved giant mock ID cards and gave out 600 leaflets.
A demo organised by Glasgow Anarchists was held outside the immigration centre on Brand Street. Leaflets were distributed in St. Andrews.
London No Borders and NO2ID picketed Lunar House in Croydon, the UK Border Agency headquarters.
Leeds NO2ID burnt a mock ID card in the city centre.
Across the country many letters were written to local newspapers to build support for a complete boycott.
These new ID cards are not only a repressive measure against non-EEA (European Economic Area) students and spouses, they are the first shot in an attack against everyone?s liberty. In targeting a largely voiceless migrant group, who have the least chance to complain and the most to lose, the government is following a familiar path of repressive regimes throughout history. Immigration law already gives the Home Office powers it would like to exert over everybody. The government is upfront about its plans, and has repeatedly stressed they consider that “border control can no longer be a fixed line on a map”. ID cards are just part of a wider government plan to internalise borders within the UK so everyone can be numbered and monitored. Under a cloud of anti-immigration hysteria the government is increasing its social control and attempting to usher in unprecedented powers of surveillance over the whole population.
So, by starting with ?foreigners? the government is using a divide and rule tactic, hoping that some people will not care or think it won?t happen to them. But protests will continue as the registration offices get up to speed over the coming months. There is still time to organise a countrywide boycott if solidarity is shown with international students and others affected. The petty harassment of some of these demonstrations by police and local officials just shows what kind of state we?ll all be living in if the government gets its way.
By resisting the repression of migrants, we defend the freedom of everyone!
[Note: Asylum seekers have have already had biometric ID for several years, through the ARC card which began to be issued in 2002].
Final note: The lobbying organisation NO2ID who took part in some of the protests as part of their opposition to ID cards and databases as a ‘single issue’ now need to ask hard questions of some of its so-called supporters like UKIP who claim to oppose ‘ID cards and the database state’ but are in fact in favour of registering and tracking migrants. As we have pointed out before, ID cards/databases and border control just cannot be seperated as an issue.