--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I said it's impossible to have an amnesty…" description: "\"I said it's impossible to have an amnesty without ID cards and a clean database, because you firstly don't have any incentives for people to actually c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fea/david-blunkett-4087_amnesty_i-said-it-s-impossible-to-have-an-amnest_2445758.png" --- # I said it's impossible to have an amnesty without ID cards… ![“I said it's impossible to have an amnesty without ID cards and a clean database, because you firstly don't have any incentives for people to actually come up front and register, and make themselves available, and secondly you have no means of tracking them.” quote by David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fea/david-blunkett-4087_amnesty_i-said-it-s-impossible-to-have-an-amnest_2445758.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fea/david-blunkett-4087_amnesty_i-said-it-s-impossible-to-have-an-amnest_2445758.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fea/david-blunkett-4087_amnesty_i-said-it-s-impossible-to-have-an-amnest_2445758.png) > “I said it's impossible to have an amnesty without ID cards and a clean database, because you firstly don't have any incentives for people to actually come up front and register, and make themselves available, and secondly you have no means of tracking them.” [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker argues that amnesty without proper identification and a clean database lacks incentives and tracking, making it ineffective. **In simple terms:** Amnesty needs ID and a clean database to work. Key Takeaway Ensure proper ID and data before offering amnesty. Themes policy identity incentives Mood analytical pragmatic Type policy administrative When to use this quote - immigration reform - legal compliance - public trust Key Concepts public administration governance Questions to Reflect On - What incentives could motivate registration? - How can tracking be improved? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amnesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amnesty/) [Amnesty Id](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amnesty-id-526758/) [Available](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/available/) [Cards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cards/) [Clean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clean/) [Clean Database](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clean-database-526760/) [Come up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come-up/) [Databases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/databases/) [Id Cards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/id-cards-526759/) [Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) [Impossible Amnesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible-amnesty-526757/) [Incentives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incentives/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Register](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/register/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Tracking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tracking/) ## Related quotes > [ID cards do not tell the police who is about to commit a suicide bombing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wadham/id-cards-do-not-tell-the-police-who-is-about-to-commit-a-suicide/) [John Wadham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wadham/) > [At various stages, ID cards have been necessary to protect us from terrorism, illegal immigration, and benefit fraud. But former home secretaries, academics and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/at-various-stages-id-cards-have-been-necessary-to-protect-us-from/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [The first duty of government is to ensure its citizens are protected, but ID cards could never have done that. They would have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/the-first-duty-of-government-is-to-ensure-its-citizens-are-protected/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [I'm against voter fraud in any form, and I have long supported a national voter ID card. But ID cards need not - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/i-m-against-voter-fraud-in-any-form-and-i-have-long-supported-a/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [Introducing ID cards isn't a matter of great national security importance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-grayling/introducing-id-cards-isn-t-a-matter-of-great-national-security/) [Chris Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-grayling/) > [I have met virtually no one in the policing and security world who thinks ID cards are an essential part of what they need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-grayling/i-have-met-virtually-no-one-in-the-policing-and-security-world-who/) [Chris Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-grayling/) > [Programming in the abstract sense is what I really enjoy. I enjoy lots of different areas of it... I'm taking a great deal of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carmack/programming-in-the-abstract-sense-is-what-i-really-enjoy-i-enjoy-lots/) [John Carmack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carmack/) > [How many more copycats are waiting in the wings for their moment of fame — from a national media machine that rewards them with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-lapierre/how-many-more-copycats-are-waiting-in-the-wings-for-their-moment-of/) [Wayne LaPierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-lapierre/) > [Facebook in particular is the most appalling spying machine that has ever been invented. Here we have the world's most comprehensive database about people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/facebook-in-particular-is-the-most-appalling-spying-machine-that-has/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Ionizing radiation may well be the most important single cause of cancer, birth defects and genetic disorders... The stakes for human health are very,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gofman/ionizing-radiation-may-well-be-the-most-important-single-cause-of/) [John Gofman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gofman/) > [This is systems security for the Central Intelligence Agency. We would like to know why you are attempting to hack one of our classified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/this-is-systems-security-for-the-central-intelligence-agency-we-would/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [The program grew out of a desire to address a gap identified after 9/11 ... The program does not involve the NSA examining the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-program-grew-out-of-a-desire-to-address-a-gap-identified-after-9/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Everyone should understand that when they add their friends to Facebook, they are doing free work for United States intelligence agencies in building this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/everyone-should-understand-that-when-they-add-their-friends-to/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Bin Laden was, though, a product of a monumental miscalculation by western security agencies. Throughout the 80s he was armed by the CIA and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-cook/bin-laden-was-though-a-product-of-a-monumental-miscalculation-by/) [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) > [Web pages are designed for people. For the Semantic Web, we need to look at existing databases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/web-pages-are-designed-for-people-for-the-semantic-web-we-need-to/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) ## More by David Blunkett > [Strengthening our identity is one way of reinforcing people's confidence and sense of citizenship and well-being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/strengthening-our-identity-is-one-way-of-reinforcing-people-s/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) > [Politics is about the participation and engagement of the wider citizenry - to miss that point would doom us to irrelevance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/politics-is-about-the-participation-and-engagement-of-the-wider/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) > [I don't think anyone can say I have said one thing in public and done another in private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/i-don-t-think-anyone-can-say-i-have-said-one-thing-in-public-and-done/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) > [As a former home secretary, I have access to and knowledge of the workings of the system in a way that individuals unfamiliar with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/as-a-former-home-secretary-i-have-access-to-and-knowledge-of-the/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) > [The Home Office culture was one of being just above the problem, of hovering just out of reach of knowing what was going on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/the-home-office-culture-was-one-of-being-just-above-the-problem-of/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) > [And we think that our citizens and yours would be very angry if they thought that we hadnt taken every possible step for prevention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/and-we-think-that-our-citizens-and-yours-would-be-very-angry-if-they/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) > [I was affected by the harshness of government, the reality of 16-hour days, and the pressures of modern communications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/i-was-affected-by-the-harshness-of-government-the-reality-of-16-hour/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) > [Yes, it will go through the disciplines that all puppies go through including house training and puppy walking, then at twelve month old it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/yes-it-will-go-through-the-disciplines-that-all-puppies-go-through/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) > [At school, I was brought up on revolting food - sausages, sausages and Spam - but at home, I had the most wonderful sponge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/at-school-i-was-brought-up-on-revolting-food-sausages-sausages-and/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) > [Let's not allow the voice of the people to be overwhelmed by the siren song of those who opposed regulation, who demanded that government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/let-s-not-allow-the-voice-of-the-people-to-be-overwhelmed-by-the/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) > [The clash between capital and labour, between those seeking to maximise profit and those with only their toil to sell, was the driving force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/the-clash-between-capital-and-labour-between-those-seeking-to/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) > [Without the political parties and the volunteering work of their members day in, day out, we would have a very different sort of politics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/without-the-political-parties-and-the-volunteering-work-of-their/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) > [If I pleaded guilty to a mistake while I was home secretary, it wasn't that I didn't get tough - my God, I put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/if-i-pleaded-guilty-to-a-mistake-while-i-was-home-secretary-it-wasn-t/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) > [I have always been honest about my recollection of events.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/i-have-always-been-honest-about-my-recollection-of-events/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) > [We have put over £2bn in the last three years into counter-terrorism and we are developing the electronic border surveillance and identity cards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/we-have-put-over-2bn-in-the-last-three-years-into-counter-terrorism/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) [Explore all 116 David Blunkett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) ## More Amnesty quotes > [I am strongly opposed to any form of amnesty, including, especially, executive amnesty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-scalise/i-am-strongly-opposed-to-any-form-of-amnesty-including-especially/) [Steve Scalise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-scalise/) > [How arrogant - how very far from humility - would be the self-satisfied, smug assurance that God, a tidy-up-after-us God will come and clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/how-arrogant-how-very-far-from-humility-would-be-the-self-satisfied/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [Hillary Clinton has pledged to keep both of these illegal amnesty programs, including the 2014 amnesty which has been blocked by the United States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/hillary-clinton-has-pledged-to-keep-both-of-these-illegal-amnesty/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [3 "amnesty" didn't mean rewarding illegal behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/3-amnesty-didn-t-mean-rewarding-illegal-behavior/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [Why don't Republicans spend all their airtime attacking the media for lying about what Obama's amnesty does and what the Democrats are doing? It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/why-don-t-republicans-spend-all-their-airtime-attacking-the-media-for/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [...we will not grant amnesty to illegal aliens in this Congress or, hopefully ever again. We did that once. Everybody said it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-gramm/we-will-not-grant-amnesty-to-illegal-aliens-in-this-congress-or/) [Phil Gramm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-gramm/) > [ I take the Constitution very seriously. The biggest problems that we're facing right now have to do with \[the president\] trying to bring more… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-take-the-constitution-very-seriously-the-biggest-problems-that-we/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I worked 30 years to try to restore respect for the rule of law because of Ronald Reagan's amnesty in 1986. And I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-king/i-worked-30-years-to-try-to-restore-respect-for-the-rule-of-law/) [Steve King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-king/) > [You are going to hear many things from Mr. Trump today in his speech on immigration. One, no amnesty. He is absolutely going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellyanne-conway/you-are-going-to-hear-many-things-from-mr-trump-today-in-his-speech/) [Kellyanne Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellyanne-conway/) > [I supported this bill. I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and who have lived here even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-supported-this-bill-i-believe-in-the-idea-of-amnesty-for-those-who/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Amnesty is a disaster, we need strong borders. We have no country if we have no border. In New Hampshire, the biggest complaint is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/amnesty-is-a-disaster-we-need-strong-borders-we-have-no-country-if-we/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [no study has brought out any solid evidence that the death penalty deters crime. In fact, Amnesty reports that 'the murder rate in states…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoinette-bosco/no-study-has-brought-out-any-solid-evidence-that-the-death-penalty/) [Antoinette Bosco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoinette-bosco/) > [We try it practically every time it comes up, be it amnesty, be it any other issue they want. We try and it gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/we-try-it-practically-every-time-it-comes-up-be-it-amnesty-be-it-any/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [ This bill \[Immigration Reform and Control act of 1986\] is a gamble, a riverboat gamble. There is no guarantee that employer sanctions will work… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-schumer/this-bill-immigration-reform-and-control-act-of-1986-is-a-gamble-a/) [Charles Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-schumer/) > [ No one believed \[the 1986 amnesty for illegal aliens\] was tough enough on illegal immigration, and it didn't give enough flexibility on future legal immigration. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-schumer/no-one-believed-the-1986-amnesty-for-illegal-aliens-was-tough-enough/) [Charles Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-schumer/) [Browse all 195 Amnesty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amnesty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I said it's impossible to have an amnesty without ID cards and a clean database, because you firstly don't have any incentives for people to actually come up front and register, and make themselves available, and secondly you have no means of tracking them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Blunkett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/i-said-it-s-impossible-to-have-an-amnesty-without-id-cards-and-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Amnesty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/i-said-it-s-impossible-to-have-an-amnesty-without-id-cards-and-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fea/david-blunkett-4087_amnesty_i-said-it-s-impossible-to-have-an-amnest_2445758.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fea/david-blunkett-4087_amnesty_i-said-it-s-impossible-to-have-an-amnest_2445758.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fea/david-blunkett-4087_amnesty_i-said-it-s-impossible-to-have-an-amnest_2445758.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I said it's impossible to have an amnesty without ID cards and a clean database, because you firstly don't…” — David Blunkett", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Blunkett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I said it's impossible to have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/i-said-it-s-impossible-to-have-an-amnesty-without-id-cards-and-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/i-said-it-s-impossible-to-have-an-amnesty-without-id-cards-and-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```