Illegal immigrants face investigation

Illegal immigrants face investigation

JAMBI, Jambi: The provincial justice office has started
investigating 300 residents of Indian and Arab descent who have
allegedly yet to obtain Indonesian nationality, despite having
stayed here for decades, Antara reported.

The news agency quoted the head of the justice office,
Woerjanto, as saying here on Friday that the immigration office
believed there were 300 illegal immigrants of Arab and Indian
origin.

Many of them have married local people and have children and
identifications cards. Some even hold important positions in the
local bureaucracy.

"We should do something about their status as illegal
immigrants," Woerjanto said, adding that one of the reasons why
their illegal status had been ignored for so long by the
government was because they had adjusted well to Indonesian
culture.

However, "they could be deported," he added.