ORGANISE! for revolutionary anarchism - Magazine of the Anarchist Federation - Winter 2007-2008 - Issue 69


Defy-ID and No Borders - Better Together!

This is the text of a leaflet produced by Nottingham Defy-ID in February 2007, group in which AF members are involved. It was also reproduced in the 'No Borders reader' distributed at the No Borders camp at Gatwick in September where a workshop was held on ID and Border control. The leaflet examines the link between the introduction of identity cards and databases resulting from the ID Cards Act of March 2007, and the British state's intention to introduce much stricter border controls though a new UK Borders Bill.

DEFY-ID

Groups and individuals in the Defy-ID network have for the last few years been campaigning against the introduction of a national ID scheme, biometric upgrading of passports, and the surveillance society in general.

At the same time, No Borders have been tirelessly protesting against maltreatment and incarceration of asylum seekers in detention centres and against repression by government (and privately run) immigration ‘services’.

It's becoming clearer than ever that these campaigns should be working closely together…

Because ID has already been tested on asylum seekers and will also be used first on other 'foreigners'.

The Home Office is now much more open about its intended use of a biometric ID database scheme to control Britain's borders. This is not completely new- we know that ID technologies have always been tried out first on asylum seekers. For example, the ARC 'smart card' that is carried by asylum seekers is used for their regular reporting and to obtain NASS payments from the post office. It is an ID card which goes hand-in-hand with their digital photos and fingerprints being stored by the Home Office. Asylum seekers are fingerprinted when they report to their reporting centre or police station. Non-European Union visitors will soon be made to have biometric visas, including those already in Britain. Plus, the European Commission has already put in place a plan to require children to be fingerprinted and photographed for passports from at least the age of 12 years old (EU member states can decide to make this even younger). What is perhaps less well known is this was trialed on asylum seekers in Britain. Children as young as five are known to have been fingerprinted at asylum centres in Croydon and Liverpool, for example. Plus we are starting to hear about police mobile fingerprinting units being used to further harass people in cars and on demonstrations

The plan for a new National Identity Register has also been dropped in favour of combining three existing databases to create a 'meta-database': (1) The Home Office asylum-seeker database (2) The Identity and Passport Service database, and (3) The Department of Work and Pensions ‘National Insurance’ database. Although the eventual plan is to extend ID cards and a meta-database to everyone in Britain, this change of policy makes it clear that asylum seekers and other 'foreigners' are first in line for more >repression.>>

Because of the new "UK Border Bill"

The government seems to have put the powers given to it by last year’s Identity Card Act on the back-burner (at least for now), whilst biometric passport and visas are coming very soon. A new UK Border Bill introduced by Home Secretary John Reid on 25 January 2007 now aims to formally bring together border controls and compulsory ID.

With relation to Biometric registration the Bill (amongst other things): "confers a power to make regulations to require those subject to immigration control to apply for a [...] "biometric immigration document"; and to require a biometric immigration document to be used for specified immigration purposes, in connection with specified immigration procedures, and in specified circumstances where a question arises about a person's status in relation to nationality or immigration."

SOLIDARITY

Exposing the government plan to get a national ID scheme accepted

The single issue campaign No2ID has previously attempted to keep the right-wing on board by telling them they can be against a national ID scheme because it "won't work to stop illegal immigration". Countering this, the Defy-ID network has seen that the government’s ID system will work against immigrants. ID cards and databases will be used against 'foreigners' in general as a central part of the government’s plan, before they extend the scheme to everyone. The fact that ID cards and fingerprinting technology has been tested on asylum seekers shows that the state is prepared to impose ID on those people with the least voice to oppose it, before rolling it out to the whole population. Together, Defy-ID and No Borders could help get the message across that the government is trying to get its ID plans accepted by cynical scapegoating of immigrants and asylum-seekers. This would hopefully make for a stronger anti-ID campaign that is based on solidarity rather than fear.

Using the Social Centres network to widen collaboration of No Borders & DefyID

Those involved with No Borders (UK) and other refugee support groups already have a strong involvement in the emerging network of autonomous social centres in Britain. Many progressive anti-ID activists are also involved with social centres. This is true in Nottingham with activists using the Sumac Centre as a focus for Defy-ID campaigning, for example. As well as strengthening links between campaigns, social centres could also help keep an eye on the development of the Identity and Passport Service’s 69 new Authentication by Interview ‘interrogation’ centres for passport (and ID card) applications.
Email:
info[at]nottingham-defy-id.org.uk
Web: http://www.nottingham-defy-id.org.uk


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