Immigration-assisted villages serve as early detection, not enforcement units
The Class I Special Immigration Office for TPI Batam, Riau Islands, is involving the community through nine immigration-assisted villages and sub-districts as a means of exchanging information and early detection of immigration violations.
Head of the Immigration Information and Communication Section at the Batam Immigration Office, Kharisma Rukmana, said the assisted villages serve as an initial source of information for officers in the field.
“Immigration-assisted villages function as an initial source of information and a means of early detection, not as an enforcement unit. The aim is to detect immigration violations early and also the criminal act of trafficking in persons,” Kharisma said when contacted in Batam on Wednesday.
He said the selection of assisted villages is based on vulnerability mapping, not done randomly.
Several considerations include the character of border and coastal areas, the economic conditions and literacy of the community, the proportion of vulnerable-age residents, unemployment levels, as well as the history of immigration vulnerability and the risk of trafficking in persons.
“Tanjung Sengkuang, for example, was chosen because of its position in the coastal area of Batu Ampar, which has the potential to become a movement route for perpetrators and victims of trafficking in persons and people smuggling crimes,” he said.
He also said the immigration office has received various information from the communities involved.
“The information received from the community so far includes the presence of foreigners around residential areas and suspected use of rented houses as transit places. Residents also ask about the validity of job offers abroad,” he said.
Kharisma explained that each area has an Immigration Village Development Officer who conducts regular visits and monitoring. Programme monitoring and evaluation is also carried out together with the sub-district government at least once every six months.
He said the effectiveness of the programme is not only measured by the number of outreach activities carried out, but also by the reach of education, community understanding, involvement of local officials, and information submitted regarding potential non-procedural departures and trafficking in persons.
In addition to the supervisory function, the sustainability of community empowerment programmes is also one of the supporting indicators. Kharisma said there is a programme for the use of agricultural land and a greenhouse in Tembesi Sub-district supported by Batam Immigration.