REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANDUNG – West Java became a new transit for illegal immigrants from Iraq, Iran, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Myanmar, the Deputy Governor of West Java, Dede Yusuf said on Tuesday. The recorded number of immigrant in Bogor is 607 people.
“I believe if it is added with illegal immigrant, the number will be more than a thousand. Most of them do not report to the authority,” he said.
He said people in Indonesia, especially in West Java should aware that the region became the transit for the immigrants, who mostly came from conflicted area.
“They planned to enter Australia, but the regulation is very tight there,” he said. The immigration office in Sumatra including Pangkal Pinang has also handled thousand of illegal immigrant cases. “But now they choose West Java,” he said.
The illegal immigrants enter from several points in Southern part of East Java, started from Cidaun Beach, Cianjur, Rancabuaya-Garut, and Pangandaran-Ciamis. Dede said, government should keep observing. The illegal immigrants also should be handled exclusively because it is related to UN’s convention. West Java Provincial Government is likely to reactivate the Governor Regulation on Foreign Observation Team made in 2009.