I was talking this over with my wife, who is somewhat 'civil liberties' inclined, and the point we couldn't appreciate was , why can you use your eftpos card anywhere in the western world and get prompt service and cash from a machine, (12000 miles from the account, in my case) your cellphone provider can place you within 500 yards, video hirers are pursued within hours, with a suremarket card, the supermarket can tell you (and maybe others) exactly what you buy.
YET overstayers and illegal immigrants are issued with drivers licences and forged passports get passed at airports, people who are not even officially in the country are on social security.
It is not surprising that governments want to get their act together, too. They are missing out on taxation opportunities.