Ken Hutcherson: "Jesus before blackness" in wake of Zimmerman trial

Today on radio, Glenn was joined by Pastor Ken Hutcherson to discuss the aftermath of the George Zimmerman trial, specifically the increasing division along skin color. Hutcherson said that much of this division has emerged because the black community has been living in the mindset of victimhood, and he told Glenn the only solutions were going to come from God.

"In the black community, we have a real bad case of victimhood. We consider ourselves victims. So if you're a victim, it's very difficult to think that you are wrong. It's everybody else's fault. And so in the Trayvon/Zimmerman issue, it's very difficult for them to accept the fact that, you know, Trayvon could have done something wrong in this whole incident and that is because they put their blackness before they put everything, including Christ, including the Holy Spirit, including truth and including the Holy Spirit. Because if you put your blackness in front of the Holy Spirit, you can't get through it," Hutcherson told Glenn.

Hutch said that people need to pray that God breaks through and wakes people up, noting that it will take more than politicians and even more than pastors bring about change.

"First thing a person should do who believes in God, who believes in Christ, who believes that God is the way, we just start praying for them because God's got to come through.  We give the truth as we pray for them and we pray for the Holy Spirit to break through.  Politics is not going to break through.  Politician is not going to break through.  Pastors are not going to break through because most of the pastors are evangelicals, are just afraid of their sheep more than leading them.  You heard me say that.  Pastor's not going to do it, churches are not going to do it.  It is God through the Holy Spirit that's going to do it, and I am one who believes this the power of the Holy Spirit can turn this country around when we get unified because God will bless unity.  He always has and he always will.  And that is the only hope for America today," Hutch said.

He also told Glenn that Jesus has to come first in people's lives or things will never change and America will will continue down the same path it's headed now.

"I mean, the biggest problem we got, Glenn, is like I said in my article is that anytime you put your blackness in front of Jesus or you put your whiteness in front of Jesus, you put your political views in front of Jesus, you put your patriotism in front of Jesus, it's a bad deal.  It doesn't work.  And until black people learn to put Jesus in front of their blackness, they will never be the great people that God expects them to be.  Never."

Read Hutcherson's comments on race and faith in the wake of the George Zimmerman trial at TheBlaze.

Full Transcript of the interview is below:

GLENN: Warning: What you're about to hear will be controversial because it is the truth, and that is the only thing that is shocking in our society on how somebody really, truly feels or what the truth really is. Pastor Ken Hutcherson from the Antioch Bible Church in Seattle, Washington is with us. I warn you, he is not one to mince words, and he'll tell you exactly how he feels because he has stage 4 cancer and so he would rather go out telling the truth and spending his time doing something worthwhile than wasting it playing politically incorrect games.

Ken, how are you, sir?

HUTCHERSON: Hey, how are you guys doing this morning?

GLENN: Well, you know, I'm really actually really frustrated. First of all, you have an article that is out on TheBlaze now and the Christian Post. You speak frankly to blacks about Trayvon Martin. So this is actually a highlight of the Trayvon Martin case as somebody who is actually telling the truth. You want to recap some of this before we start our conversation?

HUTCHERSON: That's up to you. I was, just want to let you guys know I really appreciate you calling a brother so early. You know this is Seattle out here.

GLENN: Yeah.

HUTCHERSON: And you guys are always calling the brother early, man. You know, I have to get up, I'm standing here right now, Glenn, in my ‑‑ with a towel wrapped around me. Want me to tweet you something?

GLENN: (Laughing.) Ooh, that was disturbing.

HUTCHERSON: (Laughing.)

GLENN: So Pastor, let's start with, you said James Manning, who's a guy I don't usually agree with ‑‑

HUTCHERSON: We don't. Neither one of us.

GLENN: Yeah. And you say he hit it on the head when he said black people have a difficult time accepting truth simply because they're black. Explain.

HUTCHERSON: Yes. The biggest problem that we have here in America, bruh, is we have allowed in the African‑American community and, you know, I like to just consider black. I don't hear white Americans, you know, Hispanic Americans, everybody putting subtitles on who we are. We are Americans. But in the black community, we have a real bad case of victimhood. We consider ourselves victims. So if you're a victim, it's very difficult to think that you are wrong. It's everybody else's fault. And so in the Trayvon/Zimmerman issue, it's very difficult for them to accept the fact that, you know, Trayvon could have done something wrong in this whole incident and that is because they put their blackness before they put everything, including Christ, including the Holy Spirit, including truth and including the Holy Spirit. Because if you put your blackness in front of the Holy Spirit, you can't get through it.

GLENN: So here is the real question: How do we solve this? Because ‑‑

HUTCHERSON: By telling the truth.

GLENN: But is anybody listening to the truth anymore?

HUTCHERSON: Evidently. It made it to an article. You saw it. You liked it. Blaze printed it up. There's people calling me all kinds of names and telling me I'm a traitor. They called me, you know, the Oreo. As a matter of fact, man, an Oreo with some milk is not bad.

STU: (Laughing.)

GLENN: But where does this get us, Ken? I mean ‑‑

HUTCHERSON: It gets us in trouble, but it also gets us heard. It gets us to make people start thinking, Glenn, and that's the most important thing in the world about someone who's got a closed mind.

I tweeted this morning people that's lived by the flesh can only influence other people living by the flesh negatively. It is those who have lived by the spirit that can produce a positive and uplifting message. So Christians, get on your job and start doing what God called us to do. I don't care about fearfulness. I'm not fearful about anything. God is ‑‑ he walked the valley of the shadow of death, I walked with no evil, for my Lord and savior and the baddest one in the valley.

GLENN: Do you ever fear death? When you found out you had cancer, did you fear death?

HUTCHERSON: That was the first ‑‑ that was the last thing I needed to break this whole concept of not fearing anything, to be like Christ. Once I got cancer, brother, I go, oh, man, the world's in trouble.

GLENN: Because you were kind of like that, you know, when you were ‑‑ I mean, you were a racist when you were a teenager.

HUTCHERSON: Oh, yes. Glenn, you would never ‑‑ people can't even comprehend how I felt about whites. Like a smile on your face ‑‑ you know my motto was if you can't beat them, use them.

GLENN: What does that mean?

HUTCHERSON: That simply means, you smile, pat them on the back, kill them and beat them up when you can. Ain't no one can catch ya. I didn't believe in that joining stuff. I believe that I was superior as a black person, superior mind, superior capabilities physically. God proved it over and over again. I didn't know it was God using me to get me ready for this fight, but it was ‑‑ I hated white people. I didn't just dislike them. I hated them.

GLENN: So you were changed because God showed you what love meant.

HUTCHERSON: Oh, Glenn, when you look Jesus in the eye and you allow your heart to know how much he loves you and what he did for you, how he died on the cross for you. I even have people in my own neighborhood, I have family members talk about dying, but you know, we get in a fight and they will run off and leave you. I had two brothers that we was coming from ‑‑ two black brothers talking about, coming from the game during our junior high year, bro, after our homecoming celebration and we got surrounded by about 20, 30 white guys walking home. You know what my two black brothers did? They ran and left me. Ran off and left me. Man, I was fighting like a crazy pent‑up panther to get out of that crowd. But Jesus would never run off and leave me. And he said to me, I love you. I died for you. I rose again for you, I love you so much.

GLENN: Ken, now here's ‑‑

HUTCHERSON: And I also died for white people. So who are you to think you have the right to hate anybody.

GLENN: Here's the problem. I don't know what mindset you were in at the time, but we have a ‑‑ we will a whole nation of people that are being told by very big authorities you ‑‑ and it's almost now universally accepted that you are being held back by this group of people, they're in your way, and no matter ‑‑ no matter how many cities are destroyed, no matter how many children are made illiterate, no matter how many families are destroyed, this, this lie continues to grow and seemingly gain strength, and you have a ‑‑ I'm not just talking about black people. I'm talking about white people too.

HUTCHERSON: Oh, yeah.

GLENN: You have people who are just willing to take it because it's easier that way. How do you get people to do things that are hard?

HUTCHERSON: Number one ‑‑

GLENN: You're asking people to change ‑‑

HUTCHERSON: Number one ‑‑

GLENN: ‑‑ and stop taking stuff.

HUTCHERSON: Yeah. Number one: We've got to pray for them, Glenn. Prayer breaks things ‑‑ I was supposed to have been dead 5 1/2 years ago. Prayer's kept me alive through all this, right? Now, if prayer can do that, there's nothing I said I don't think prayer can accomplish. First thing a person should do who believes in God, who believes in Christ, who believes that God is the way, we just start praying for them because God's got to come through. We give the truth as we pray for them and we pray for the Holy Spirit to break through. Politics is not going to break through. Politician is not going to break through. Pastors are not going to break through because most of the pastors are evangelicals, are just afraid of their sheep more than leading them. You heard me say that. Pastor's not going to do it, churches are not going to do it. It is God through the Holy Spirit that's going to do it, and I am one who believes this the power of the Holy Spirit can turn this country around when we get unified because God will bless unity. He always has and he always will. And that is the only hope for America today.

GLENN: Do you believe that we are ‑‑ you know, I said right before you came on that I'm beginning to believe that a reset is coming and is necessary. Do you believe we are at the point of reset, or do you think that we walk away, we walk away, you know, by the skin of our teeth just saying, whew, that was a close one"?

HUTCHERSON: Oh, no, no, no. There's no way in the world we're going to walk away by the skin of our teeth, brother. If God don't do something to break is up, he's going to have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.

GLENN: Well, that's a happy note. Back to you standing in your kitchen with your ‑‑

HUTCHERSON: Say what I, Glenn, it's not good to have silence on radio, you know.

GLENN: I know. Sometimes, sometimes it is. Sometimes people need to ‑‑ sometimes people need to hear the silence and ‑‑

HUTCHERSON: Right. It's no way in the world, Glenn, he's not going to reset us, man, to save this nation. It's going to have to happen. I mean, just look at scripture. Look at prophecy. Every prophecy in the Bible has come through and will come through that has not come forth yet. You can put your money on the bank on that, bruh, and God's going to do something here to America. But we also have to remember that America's not mentioned in front of is I.

GLENN: Okay. Thank you for that too. You know, I was in church yesterday and I ‑‑

HUTCHERSON: That's a good place to be.

GLENN: I know. And I thought ‑‑ I wrote down on the, you know, the little thing that they pass out. What do you call them?

HUTCHERSON: Bulletin?

GLENN: Yeah, the bulletin. And I wrote on there, we all used to think that we were alike and that we all wanted America to succeed and we all believed in America.

HUTCHERSON: Mmm‑hmmm.

GLENN: We found out that not to be true.

HUTCHERSON: Mmm‑hmmm.

GLENN: We all now believe that most people are alike; they just want to be left alone and let live. I don't think that's true either.

I think evil is on the rampage in our nation.

HUTCHERSON: You know why evil's on the rampage, Glenn? Because righteousness is feared. Silent and fearful. See, the only way ‑‑ what was the statement said? The only way evil is to promote itself and grow is good people stay silent?

GLENN: Well, here's what ‑‑ and let me ask you this: Here's why that has happened. I mean, it is ‑‑ it takes everything in me now to say black as opposed to African‑American because it has been drilled into us and drilled into us and drilled into us. And even when I say black as opposed to African‑American, even though I fully believe that African‑American is wrong and everything else, there's still part of me that goes, well, I don't want to make anybody ‑‑ I mean, most Americans, the reason why political correctness has succeeded is because most Americans, they're not politically correct. They just ‑‑ you know, if that makes somebody feel better, fine. I'll do that. And I just don't want to cause any trouble. That's the way most Americans are.

HUTCHERSON: Most Americans didn't change history, bro. There's only a few that can do that. And that's the reason I like to work with you: I think we want to change history and make the future better. But don't you worry about calling people black, brother. Let me tell you, black people come through a metamorphosis of names. We've had so many names, we don't know what we ought to call ourselves.

GLENN: Hutch ‑‑

HUTCHERSON: The NAACP still don't know what to call each other.

PAT: What do you identify with, Hutch? Do you identify with ‑‑

GLENN: No. Black.

PAT: Because I don't think I've ever heard you refer to yourself as African‑American.

GLENN: No. He's just black.

PAT: Yeah.

HUTCHERSON: Yeah, man.

PAT: And I've heard others say that as well, that they've never been to Africa. Why would you call yourself African‑American?

HUTCHERSON: I tell you the only true African‑American I've ever seen is Rabbi Lapin.

PAT: Yes.

GLENN: Yeah. Well, you know, you talk about, you know, African‑American and black, and we've made this culture to where you can feel comfortable calling yourself black but if you're white, you immediately feel uncomfortable and being made to feel uncomfortable for calling you anything but African‑American. And then you have the N‑word, which I think is a despicable word, especially ‑‑ I mean, you know, I didn't need to talk to you to know how horrible that is, but I have to tell ya, after sitting down and talking to somebody like you who went through living in the South in the Fifties and the Sixties, I'll tell you, Hutch, it's an experience that, a guy who grew up in the Seattle ‑‑ in the Pacific Northwest, I didn't grow up around any of that. I didn't recognize any of that. And to hear it is stunning and is so unbelievably shameful and yet, people like Al Sharpton, I've talked to him about it. Why don't you stand up against that? Why don't you ever stand up against that? "Well, I do." No, you don't.

HUTCHERSON: But that don't make money, Glenn.

GLENN: What did you say?

HUTCHERSON: That don't make money for him.

PAT: Isn't that the truth.

STU: To be fair, he did march on that against rappers using that word and in, in fact ‑‑

HUTCHERSON: Oh, good.

PAT: And you joined him, did you?

GLENN: I did join him.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: Because I ‑‑

HUTCHERSON: I really appreciate him marching against rappers.

STU: Fair point.

GLENN: Go ahead, Hutch.

HUTCHERSON: I mean, the biggest problem we got, Glenn, is like I said in my article is that anytime you put your blackness in front of Jesus or you put your whiteness in front of Jesus, you put your political views in front of Jesus, you put your patriotism in front of Jesus, it's a bad deal. It doesn't work. And until black people learn to put Jesus in front of their blackness, they will never be the great people that God expects them to be. Never.

GLENN: Well, that's not happening. I mean, you know, black people ‑‑

HUTCHERSON: I'm going to help it happen.

GLENN: You look at the values of the average black family and they're very conservative. Very conservative.

HUTCHERSON: Very. Very.

GLENN: And you don't see any of that in the way we vote or the way people speak or anything. It just doesn't happen. It happens in church, but it doesn't happen any place else.

HUTCHERSON: Have you seen the movie Lincoln?

GLENN: Yes.

HUTCHERSON: Brother, that movie, to have Argo beat that out? You know that's Hollywood. I don't have the slightest idea how Argo beat Lincoln out for the award. I'm going to tell you something, man: Every black person in the world should be made to sit down and watch that movie and see how Democrats was the one that stood against freeing the slaves. They ought to sit down and read some black history in America, which, history isn't taught at all in America anymore, to find out just who the Jim Crow laws and the separate but equal people who pushed that mess. We are stupid as a people ‑‑

PAT: And then see who it was that ‑‑

HUTCHERSON: ‑‑ when it comes to knowing who to support.

PAT: And then find out who it was that opposed the Civil Rights Movement in the Fifties and Sixties, again, Democrats.

GLENN: Not just Democrats. It was London B. Johnson.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: It was Johnson.

PAT: Al Gore's dad.

GLENN: Yeah. Al Gore's dad is Lyndon B. Johnson's?

PAT: No. Just an addendum to it.

GLENN: Yeah, okay. Thank you very much.

PAT: In addition to Lyndon B. Johnson.

GLENN: A very confusing conversation.

Hutch, we love you, man. I'll talk to you later.

HUTCHERSON: I'll see you this afternoon, right?

GLENN: Thank you ‑‑ yes, sir. We'll see you at TV tonight. Thank you.

HUTCHERSON: Bye.

GLENN: Pastor Ken Hutcherson, former NFL player, former racist, and a guy who has very little time left and has the truth, knows what it is. Will America listen?

In the quiet aftermath of a profound loss, the Christian community mourns the unexpected passing of Dr. Voddie Baucham, a towering figure in evangelical circles. Known for his defense of biblical truth, Baucham, a pastor, author, and theologian, left a legacy on family, faith, and opposing "woke" ideologies in the church. His book Fault Lines challenged believers to prioritize Scripture over cultural trends. Glenn had Voddie on the show several times, where they discussed progressive influences in Christianity, debunked myths of “Christian nationalism,” and urged hope amid hostility.

The shock of Baucham's death has deeply affected his family. Grieving, they remain hopeful in Christ, with his wife, Bridget, now facing the task of resettling in the US without him. Their planned move from Lusaka, Zambia, was disrupted when their home sale fell through last December, resulting in temporary Airbnb accommodations, but they have since secured a new home in Cape Coral that requires renovations. To ensure Voddie's family is taken care of, a fundraiser is being held to raise $2 million, which will be invested for ongoing support, allowing Bridget to focus on her family.

We invite readers to contribute prayerfully. If you feel called to support the Bauchams in this time of need, you can click here to donate.

We grieve and pray with hope for the Bauchams.

May Voddie's example inspire us.

Loneliness isn’t just being alone — it’s feeling unseen, unheard, and unimportant, even amid crowds and constant digital chatter.

Loneliness has become an epidemic in America. Millions of people, even when surrounded by others, feel invisible. In tragic irony, we live in an age of unparalleled connectivity, yet too many sit in silence, unseen and unheard.

I’ve been experiencing this firsthand. My children have grown up and moved out. The house that once overflowed with life now echoes with quiet. Moments that once held laughter now hold silence. And in that silence, the mind can play cruel games. It whispers, “You’re forgotten. Your story doesn’t matter.”

We are unique in our gifts, but not in our humanity. Recognizing this shared struggle is how we overcome loneliness.

It’s a lie.

I’ve seen it in others. I remember sitting at Rockefeller Center one winter, watching a woman lace up her ice skates. Her clothing was worn, her bag battered. Yet on the ice, she transformed — elegant, alive, radiant.

Minutes later, she returned to her shoes, merged into the crowd, unnoticed. I’ve thought of her often. She was not alone in her experience. Millions of Americans live unseen, performing acts of quiet heroism every day.

Shared pain makes us human

Loneliness convinces us to retreat, to stay silent, to stop reaching out to others. But connection is essential. Even small gestures — a word of encouragement, a listening ear, a shared meal — are radical acts against isolation.

I’ve learned this personally. Years ago, a caller called me “Mr. Perfect.” I could have deflected, but I chose honesty. I spoke of my alcoholism, my failed marriage, my brokenness. I expected judgment. Instead, I found resonance. People whispered back, “I’m going through the same thing. Thank you for saying it.”

Our pain is universal. Everyone struggles with self-doubt and fear. Everyone feels, at times, like a fraud. We are unique in our gifts, but not in our humanity. Recognizing this shared struggle is how we overcome loneliness.

We were made for connection. We were built for community — for conversation, for touch, for shared purpose. Every time we reach out, every act of courage and compassion punches a hole in the wall of isolation.

You’re not alone

If you’re feeling alone, know this: You are not invisible. You are seen. You matter. And if you’re not struggling, someone you know is. It’s your responsibility to reach out.

Loneliness is not proof of brokenness. It is proof of humanity. It is a call to engage, to bear witness, to connect. The world is different because of the people who choose to act. It is brighter when we refuse to be isolated.

We cannot let silence win. We cannot allow loneliness to dictate our lives. Speak. Reach out. Connect. Share your gifts. By doing so, we remind one another: We are all alike, and yet each of us matters profoundly.

In this moment, in this country, in this world, what we do matters. Loneliness is real, but so is hope. And hope begins with connection.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.


Russell Vought’s secret plan to finally shrink Washington

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Trump’s OMB chief built the plan for this moment: Starve pet programs, force reauthorization, and actually shrink Washington.

The government is shut down again, and the usual panic is back. I even had someone call my house this week to ask if it was safe to fly today. The person was half-joking, half-serious, wondering if planes would “fall out of the sky.”

For the record, the sky isn’t falling — at least not literally. But the chaos in Washington does feel like it. Once again, we’re watching the same old script: a shutdown engineered not by fiscal restraint but by political brinkmanship. And this time, the Democrats are driving the bus.

This shutdown may be inconvenient. But it’s also an opportunity — to stop funding our own destruction, to reset the table, and to remind Congress who actually pays the bills.

Democrats, among other things, are demanding that health care be extended to illegal immigrants. Democratic leadership caved to its radical base, which would rather shut down the government for such left-wing campaign points than compromise. Republicans — shockingly — said no. They refused to rubber-stamp more spending for illegal immigration. For once, they stood their ground.

But if you’ve watched Washington long enough, you know how this story usually ends: a shutdown followed by a deal that spends even more money than before — a continuing resolution kicking the can down the road. Everyone pretends to “win,” but taxpayers always lose.

The Vought effect

This time might be different. Republicans actually hold some cards. The public may blame Democrats — not the media, but the people who feel this in their wallets. Americans don’t like shutdowns, but they like runaway spending and chaos even less.

That’s why you’re hearing so much about Russell Vought, the director of the United States Office of Management and Budget and Donald Trump’s quiet architect of a strategy to use moments like this to shrink the federal bureaucracy. Vought spent four years building a plan for exactly this scenario: firing nonessential workers and forcing reauthorization of pet programs. Trump talks about draining the swamp. Vought draws up the blueprints.

The Democrats and media are threatened by Vought because he is patient, calculated, and understands how to leverage the moment to reverse decades of government bloat. If programs aren’t mandated, cut them. Make Congress fight to bring them back. That’s how you actually drain the swamp.

Predictable meltdowns

Predictably, Democrats are melting down. They’ve shifted their arguments so many times it’s dizzying. Last time, they claimed a shutdown would lead to mass firings. Now, they insist Republicans are firing everyone anyway. It’s the same playbook: Move the goalposts, reframe the narrative, accuse your opponents of cruelty.

We’ve seen this before. Remember the infamous "You lie!” moment in 2009? President Barack Obama promised during his State of the Union that Obamacare wouldn’t cover illegal immigrants. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) shouted, “You lie!” and was condemned for breaching decorum.

Several years later, Hillary Clinton’s campaign platform openly promised health care for illegal immigrants. What was once called a “lie” became official policy. And today, Democrats are shutting down the government because they can’t get even more of it.

This is progressivism in action: Deny it, inch toward it, then demand it as a moral imperative. Anyone who resists becomes the villain.

SAUL LOEB / Contributor | Getty Images

Stand firm

This shutdown isn’t just about spending. It’s about whether we’ll keep letting progressives rewrite the rules one crisis at a time. Trump’s plan — to cut what isn’t mandated, force programs into reauthorization, and fight the battle in the courts — is the first real counterpunch to decades of this manipulation.

It’s time to stop pretending. This isn’t about compassion. It’s about control. Progressives know once they normalize government benefits for illegal immigrants, they never roll back. They know Americans forget how it started.

This shutdown may be inconvenient. But it’s also an opportunity — to stop funding our own destruction, to reset the table, and to remind Congress who actually pays the bills. If we don’t take it, we’ll be right back here again, only deeper in debt, with fewer freedoms left to defend.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

U.K. forces digital IDs on workers—Is the U.S. next in line?

OLI SCARFF / Contributor | Getty Images

From banking to health care, digital IDs touch every aspect of citizens’ lives, giving the government unprecedented control over everyday actions.

On Friday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stood at the podium at the Global Progressive Action Conference in London and made an announcement that should send a chill down the spine of anyone who loves liberty. By the end of this Parliament, he promised, every worker in the U.K. will be required to hold a “free-of-charge” digital ID. Without it, Britons will not be able to work.

No digital ID, no job.

The government is introducing a system that punishes law-abiding citizens by tying their right to work to a government-issued pass.

Starmer framed this as a commonsense response to poverty, climate change, and illegal immigration. He claimed Britain cannot solve these problems without “looking upstream” and tackling root causes. But behind the rhetoric lies a policy that shifts power away from individuals and places it squarely in the hands of government.

Solving the problem they created

This is progressivism in action. Leaders open their borders, invite in mass illegal immigration, and refuse to enforce their own laws. Then, when public frustration boils over, they unveil a prepackaged “solution” — in this case, digital identity — that entrenches government control.

Britain isn’t the first to embrace this system. Switzerland recently approved a digital ID system. Australia already has one. The World Economic Forum has openly pitched digital IDs as the key to accessing everything from health care to bank accounts to travel. And once the infrastructure is in place, digital currency will follow soon after, giving governments the power to track every purchase, approve or block transactions, and dictate where and how you spend your money.

All of your data — your medical history, insurance, banking, food purchases, travel, social media engagement, tax information — would be funneled into a centralized database under government oversight.

The fiction of enforcement

Starmer says this is about cracking down on illegal work. The BBC even pressed him on the point, asking why a mandatory digital ID would stop human traffickers and rogue employers who already ignore national insurance cards. He had no answer.

Bad actors will still break the law. Bosses who pay sweatshop wages under the table will not suddenly check digital IDs. Criminals will not line up to comply. This isn’t about stopping illegal immigration. If it were, the U.K. would simply enforce existing laws, close the loopholes, and deport those working illegally.

Instead, the government is introducing a system that punishes law-abiding citizens by tying their right to work to a government-issued pass.

Control masked as compassion

This is part of an old playbook. Politicians claim their hands are tied and promise that only sweeping new powers will solve the crisis. They selectively enforce laws to maintain the problem, then use the problem to justify expanding control.

If Britain truly wanted to curb illegal immigration, it could. It is an island. The Channel Tunnel has clear entry points. Enforcement is not impossible. But a digital ID allows for something far more valuable to bureaucrats than border security: total oversight of their own citizens.

The American warning

Think digital ID can’t happen here? Think again. The same arguments are already echoing in Washington, D.C. Illegal immigration is out of control. Progressives know voters are angry. When the digital ID pitch arrives, it will be wrapped in patriotic language about fairness, security, and compassion.

But the goal isn’t compassion. It’s control of your movement, your money, your speech, your future.

We don’t need digital IDs to enforce immigration law. We need leaders with the courage to enforce existing law. Until then, digital ID schemes will keep spreading, sold as a cure for the very problems they helped create.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.