Immigration Beefs Up Inspection, Passport Application to Prevent Human Trafficking
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25 July 2023 20:46 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Tangerang - The Soekarno-Hatta Airport's Immigration Office is determined to tighten inspection for Indonesian citizens going abroad and passport applications in a bid to prevent cases of human trafficking.
“This is our commitment to preventing trafficking in persons. We will continue to tighten crossings, so no more Indonesian citizens become victims,” the Immigration Office head Muhammad Tito Andrianto said on Tuesday, July 25, 2023.
Strengthening inspection is carried out by profiling suspicious passengers. “The target object is non-procedural Indonesian migrant workers. Sometimes, they disguise themselves as passengers in general. But, after holding interviews, it is known that they aim to work abroad without undergoing the procedure,” Tito explained.
Immigration thwarts alleged trafficking of 3,195 Indonesian citizens
The Soekarno-Hatta Airport's Immigration Office reported that during January-July 2023, it had averted the alleged trafficking of 3,195 Indonesian citizens. From July 1 to 23, the office also managed to thwart the illegal dispatch of 586 potential migrant workers.
The number of alleged human trafficking cases prevented by the airport immigration office from January to June continued to increase. There were 212 people in January, 417 people in February, 525 people in March, 309 people in April, 580 people in May, and 566 people in June.
53 passport applications are rejected
Tito added that his office also tighten the process of passport applications. This year to date, 53 passport applications were rejected; 14 applications in January, 6 applications in February, 13 applications in March, 10 applications in April, 1 application in May, and 5 applications in June. Meanwhile, from July 1 to 21, four passport applications were denied.
“The rejection of passport issuance is usually because the applicants claim that they don't have one but it turns out they already have one, lacking documents, or providing incorrect information. It could also be because there are indications of being a non-procedural migrant worker,” he explained.
JONIANSYAH HARDJONO
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