MP Marinus Gea Calls for Integrated Immigration Data from Central to Regional Levels

House of Representatives Commission XIII member Marinus Gea has stressed the importance of transparency and integration of immigration data to support the supervision of foreign nationals in Indonesia. According to Marinus, Immigration serves as the gatekeeper for the entry and exit of foreigners and is responsible for monitoring their activities to safeguard national sovereignty. “Immigration is the institution that guards the gates for foreigners entering and leaving Indonesia and also the institution that supervises the movements and activities of foreigners in Indonesia to protect our national sovereignty,” Marinus said in a statement on Saturday (13/6/2026). He made the remarks during a meeting with regional immigration officials as part of a working visit by House Commission XIII to North Sumatra Province on Friday (12/6). He assessed that immigration data is a primary instrument that must be optimally accessible to all supervisory officers in the regions. However, he noted that the data available so far has not been sufficiently transparent, often raising questions about its accuracy and openness. “The data presented so far often raises questions because we suspect there is still a lack of transparency. Therefore, more transparent digitalisation is needed so that data access can be carried out nationally and in an integrated manner,” he explained. Marinus explained that the central government currently has access to national data, but this information needs to be distributed down to the regional office and immigration office levels. This is because the greatest supervisory burden lies precisely in the regions, which deal directly with the activities of foreigners. He stressed that officers in the regions need to know the travel history of every foreign national, including whether the person entered through another region and whether they have already left Indonesia or not. “If supervision is only monitored by the centre, the burden is certainly very heavy. We have many entry and exit points for foreigners in Indonesia. Therefore, the distribution of supervision must be carried out through an open and integrated digital system,” he asserted. He also encouraged the development of a national dashboard capable of displaying all immigration data in real time on a single screen. Through such a system, officers could monitor the number of foreign arrivals, the type of residence permits used, their place of residence, permit validity periods, and the number of foreigners who have left Indonesia. “With an integrated system, the supervision process will become more effective while strengthening the accountability of immigration administration across all regions,” he concluded.