Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (ANTARA) - Officers of the Class II TPI Immigration Office in Maumere, Sikka District, East Nusa Tenggara, arrested a Philippine national, identified as RLA, for unauthorized entry into Indonesia through an illegal border crossing.

"The Philippine national was arrested in Olakile, Boawae Sub-district, Nagekeo District, after staying in the region without a valid immigration document since July 2021," official of the Maumere immigration office Eko Julianto Rachmad stated in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, on Saturday.

The immigration official remarked that the foreign national had entered Nagekeo District through an illegal border crossing in July 2021 to reunite with his wife and children and stay in the region until his arrest.

The Maumere immigration office quickly acted to arrest RLA following information from a public member reporting RLA's voluntary decision to surrender to immigration officials after illegally staying in the area for months, he added.

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"(Following the tip,) the immigration office then dispatched a team to arrest the foreign national," Rachmad remarked.

Head of the Law and Human Rights Ministry office in East Nusa Tenggara, Marciana Dominika Djone, later instructed immigration officials to promptly handle the foreign national and coordinate with the relevant embassy to notify about the case, he stated.

Article 75, Paragraph (1) and (2) of Law No. 6 of 2022 on Immigration authorizing immigration officials to expel a foreign national for violating national laws will apply to the Philippine national, that in this case, violated the immigration law, he noted.

According to the immigration law, RLA will be deported to his home country following coordination with his national embassy, Rachmad remarked.

He will stay at the immigration detention center in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, pending the completion of the deportation arrangement, the official added.

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Translator: Kornelis Kaha, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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