5 Indonesian detained for overstaying in U.S.

5 Indonesian detained for overstaying in U.S.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Five Indonesian nationals have been detained by immigration
authorities in the United States for violating their visas,
taking Jakarta by surprise.

The Indonesian foreign ministry has ordered all representative
offices in the United States to make regular contact with the
local immigration and naturalization service (INS) offices to
detect problems facing Indonesians. The order followed the
detention of the Indonesians at INS offices in the states of New
Jersey, Washington and California for overstaying their
respective visas.

Indonesian Minister for Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said
on Friday the "arrests" occurred due to a lack of information and
communication between the INS offices and the Washington D.C., as
he claimed that the U.S. had promised it would not take such an
action against Indonesian nationals.

"There must have been a miscommunication between the U.S.
officials because the U.S. federal government had promised there
would be no arrest or mass deportations," Hassan said.

Antara reported on Friday that the latest Indonesian to be
detained was Roy Sagala in Seattle, Washington as he was
registering at his local INS office. Another three Indonesian
citizens were detained in New Jersey and the other one in Los
Angeles, California.

The U.S. recently enacted a policy that requires males above
16 years old from 25 countries, including Indonesia, to register
their presence in the U.S. The policy, effective since Feb. 23,
is part of its efforts to prevent terrorism.

The policy does not apply to green card holders (permanent
residents) or Indonesian diplomats.

Jakarta sent a team to the U.S. to request flexibility from
Washington on the policy as an estimated 100,000 Indonesians
stay illegally in the country.

The team, who visited Washington two weeks ago managed to
secure a promise from the U.S. not to detain or deport
Indonesians, while the deadline for them to complete their
documents was extended for one month from the original schedule
of March 23.

Hassan said he only received reports of the detention of one
Indonesian in Norfolk, Virginia, who was eventually released.

"The Federal government (in Washington D.C.) has guaranteed
that there would be no arrest or detention of our citizens and
the undocumented Indonesians would be given more time to complete
their papers," he said.

He said Washington also permitted Indonesian embassy staff to
be present at the INS offices during the registration period to
assist Indonesian citizens.