The Right to Walk the Streets: Looking for Illegal Migration on the Streets and Stations of the UK and Germany

This article compares the legal framework and
enforcement of public or ‘street’ identity checks in
the UK and Germany. These are checks performed
in public — on streets, on buses, in train stations —
with the purpose of uncovering migration
offences.1 The article finds important differences
between the two countries in the institutions
involved in enforcement, in the concentration of
identity checks across the countries, and in the role
of race. It suggests that these differences are
attributable to geographical positioning, distinct
conceptions of the role of the state, Britain’s
colonial history versus the ‘temporary’ nature of
migration to Germany, and the enduring effect in
Germany of Nazism on public discussions of state
discrimination. The article supplements an analysis
of legislation and policy guidelines with a literature
review, interviews with enforcement agents and
NGOs, data requested under the Freedom of
Information Act and criminal justice statistics.