Should there be compulsory ID cards? A new study has found almost one in seventy people across the UK may be in the country illegally. Some say it is time for drastic measures.
Up to one in 12 illegally in London
Should there be compulsory ID cards? A new study has found almost one in seventy people across the UK may be in the country illegally. Some say it is time for drastic measures.
One in 12. That is the proportion of London's population that is in the UK illegally, according to a new study commissioned by Thames WaterA private company responsible for supplying water to and treating waste water from Greater London and some other areas. . They form 60% of the one million irregular migrants in the country as a whole.1
Every one of those million has their own story. Some will have come to the UK legally, with a visaAn official document permitting someone to legally enter and stay in a country., but then overstayedSomeone who has stayed longer in a place than they are allowed to. Often a tourist or student visa will allow someone to stay in a country for a number of months or years, but they then must leave or change to a new visa. it. Others entered without formal authorisation, perhaps by forging documents. Another group applied for asylumWhen a state agrees to shelter somebody who is fleeing dangerous circumstances. The right to asylum is protected in international law by the 1951 Refugee Convention., saw their application rejected, but hung on anyway.
Finally, some will be children of other irregular migrants, illegally resident in the only country they have ever known.4
The figures come as a blow to politicians of both major parties, who have promised to reduce illegal immigration. They fear it puts more pressure on public servicesServices the government or an official body provides. In the UK, for example: health care, waste removal, transport infrastructure. , improvement of which is one of the government's central pledges, and fuels support for the far-rightA range of ideologies that emphasise social order, racial purity and the elimination of opponents..
Halting irregular migration is not just about reducing the strain on the NHS or appeasing xenophobiaLiterally 'fear of strangers' (in Greek), but the word is often used to refer to hatred or mistrust of foreigners as well as fear., however. It is also about protecting the migrants themselves from exploitation.
After all, experts say, those who can be arrested and deported at a moment's notice, even on the whim of a boss, are in no position to negotiate better working conditions.
At the end of last year, it was discovered that a large number of illegal migrants, mostly from Brazil, were having to live in caravans because their wages were so low they could not afford to rent their own homes.
Some of the starkest criticisms have been levelled at gig economyA way of working based on temporary jobs or casual part-time work rather than permanent jobs. companies like Uber Eats and Deliveroo. Third parties often create legitimate accounts on their apps under their own names and then rent them out to undocumented workers in exchange for a portion of their earnings, making money out of desperate people.3
Some are even worse off: victims of modern slaveryWhen an individual is exploited by others for personal or commercial gain. They can be tricked, coerced or forced to lose their freedom. Sometimes modern slavery involves human trafficking and often forced labour. who are traffickedWhen people are bought and sold, often to become slaves or forced workers. into the country to do menial work for no pay. It is estimated that more than 130,000 people in the UK are locked in modern slavery.4
What is the solution? Some think it might be ID cards.
Former prime minister Tony BlairTony Blair was the leader of the Labour party. He was British prime minister from 1997 to 2007. has been enthusiastic about ID cards for decades. He thinks it is time to go a step further and introduce digital ID: a unique data profile that you would need to use to access any services at all.
If you were in the UK illegally, either you would have no digital ID, or it would be marked as expired, meaning you would not be able to rent a home, claim healthcare, perhaps even buy things.
Those who found themselves shut out by this system would quickly give up and leave the country, or else could easily be tracked down.
Others are not convinced. They say those without digital ID would not just give up and leave. They would end up falling prey to more exploitative people who would give them illegal access to services and the economy - for a hefty price.
They also fear the British state is not up to the task of issuing and managing digital IDs. The Windrush scandalA UK political scandal concerning people who were wrongly denied rights, threatened with deportation or deported. Many of them were people from Caribbean countries who had arrived in the UK as part of the Windrush generation, named after HMT Empire Windrush ship that arrived in England from Jamaica in 1948. is one example of what happens when people fall through the cracks of the bureaucracy. People with every right to be in the country might end up losing everything because of a computer error.
Should there be compulsory ID cards?
Yes: Britain is one of just six developed countries not to have ID cards. Digital ID would bring the UK not only up to date, but into the future.
No: British voters have rejected the idea of ID cards for decades, so it would hardly be democratic to introduce them. And no solid evidence exists that they would actually be effective in reducing irregular migration.
Or... Illegal migration happens at scale because of unprecedented mobility combined with unprecedented global inequality. Governments that continue to exacerbate the latter issue will be unable to deal with the former, by any measure.
Thames Water - A private company responsible for supplying water to and treating waste water from Greater London and some other areas.
Visa - An official document permitting someone to legally enter and stay in a country.
Overstayed - Someone who has stayed longer in a place than they are allowed to. Often a tourist or student visa will allow someone to stay in a country for a number of months or years, but they then must leave or change to a new visa.
Asylum - When a state agrees to shelter somebody who is fleeing dangerous circumstances. The right to asylum is protected in international law by the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Public services - Services the government or an official body provides. In the UK, for example: health care, waste removal, transport infrastructure.
Far-right - A range of ideologies that emphasise social order, racial purity and the elimination of opponents.
Xenophobia - Literally 'fear of strangers' (in Greek), but the word is often used to refer to hatred or mistrust of foreigners as well as fear.
Gig economy - A way of working based on temporary jobs or casual part-time work rather than permanent jobs.
Modern slavery - When an individual is exploited by others for personal or commercial gain. They can be tricked, coerced or forced to lose their freedom. Sometimes modern slavery involves human trafficking and often forced labour.
Trafficked - When people are bought and sold, often to become slaves or forced workers.
Tony Blair - Tony Blair was the leader of the Labour party. He was British prime minister from 1997 to 2007.
Windrush scandal - A UK political scandal concerning people who were wrongly denied rights, threatened with deportation or deported. Many of them were people from Caribbean countries who had arrived in the UK as part of the Windrush generation, named after HMT Empire Windrush ship that arrived in England from Jamaica in 1948.
Up to one in 12 illegally in London

Glossary
Thames Water - A private company responsible for supplying water to and treating waste water from Greater London and some other areas.
Visa - An official document permitting someone to legally enter and stay in a country.
Overstayed - Someone who has stayed longer in a place than they are allowed to. Often a tourist or student visa will allow someone to stay in a country for a number of months or years, but they then must leave or change to a new visa.
Asylum - When a state agrees to shelter somebody who is fleeing dangerous circumstances. The right to asylum is protected in international law by the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Public services - Services the government or an official body provides. In the UK, for example: health care, waste removal, transport infrastructure.
Far-right - A range of ideologies that emphasise social order, racial purity and the elimination of opponents.
Xenophobia - Literally 'fear of strangers' (in Greek), but the word is often used to refer to hatred or mistrust of foreigners as well as fear.
Gig economy - A way of working based on temporary jobs or casual part-time work rather than permanent jobs.
Modern slavery - When an individual is exploited by others for personal or commercial gain. They can be tricked, coerced or forced to lose their freedom. Sometimes modern slavery involves human trafficking and often forced labour.
Trafficked - When people are bought and sold, often to become slaves or forced workers.
Tony Blair - Tony Blair was the leader of the Labour party. He was British prime minister from 1997 to 2007.
Windrush scandal - A UK political scandal concerning people who were wrongly denied rights, threatened with deportation or deported. Many of them were people from Caribbean countries who had arrived in the UK as part of the Windrush generation, named after HMT Empire Windrush ship that arrived in England from Jamaica in 1948.