Amendment of Anti-Trafficking Law to Strengthen Legal Enforcement Powers
The number of cross-border human trafficking cases (TPPO) has significantly decreased by 65.92% from 2023 to 2025, according to the Directorate General of Immigration of the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections. However, the agency stressed that the decline should not lead to complacency. “The reduction in cases does not mean the threat has disappeared. Data also shows that vulnerability remains very high, particularly in migrant worker areas,” said Director General of Immigration Hendarsam Marantoko during a hearing with House of Representatives Commission XIII in Jakarta on Monday, 25 May 2026.
Marantoko highlighted that East Java, Central Java, and West Java remain the provinces with the largest migrant worker origins, while districts like Indramayu, Cilacap, and East Lombok top the vulnerability map.
To mitigate risks, the Directorate General has implemented multi-layered strategies targeting critical points of Indonesian citizens’ journeys, from village level to overseas. The prevention ecosystem is strengthened from the pre-passport application stage, at Immigration Checkpoints (TPI), to overseas monitoring.
At the upstream level, the Directorate optimises the role of 885 Immigration-Guided Villages (DBI) supervised by 446 Immigration Village Officers (Pimpasa). Technologically, it integrates Border Control Management (BCM) and Subject of Interest (SOI) systems with the Immigration Management Information System (SIMKIM) for real-time risk detection.
He stressed that intensive counselling and profiling have successfully prevented 7,414 irregular Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) departures in 2025. Consequently, passport rejections for irregular cases dropped by 63.97%, and departure delays at TPI decreased by 67.85%. “This downward trend indicates the success of our early warning system. Upstream education has built awareness, causing citizens to abandon irregular departure plans before reaching the border,” Marantoko said.
On the other side, immigration functions abroad are optimised for protection through residence permit verification during passport renewal and issuing Travel Documents for Repatriation (SPLP). Over 27,000 SPLPs were issued from 2023-2025 to assist stranded Indonesians, mostly through Indonesian missions in Malaysia.
Despite effective administrative prevention, the Directorate faces limited legal authority in enforcement. Thus, it is pushing for regulatory strengthening through amendments to the TPPO law. “We urge enhanced immigration powers in the TPPO bill to provide stronger legal basis for profiling, passport suspension, and departure delays,” Marantoko stressed.
“TPPO is not a routine immigration violation. It is a serious crime against the nation’s future, targeting our citizens. Therefore, in line with the Directorate’s commitment to the people, immigration must be granted the space and authority to act faster, more preventively, and more integrated,” he concluded. (H-2)