Illegal Immigrants In Bengkulu To be Relocated

Bengkulu, March 9 (ANTARA) - All 28 illegal immigrants being held in Bengkulu will be relocated to a more suitable site, local Immigration Office spokesman Hasanudin said here on Wednesday. "They are temporarily being accommodated at the immigration office, but it has upset the office activities, so they will soon be relocated," Hasanudin said, adding that the immigrants originally arrived from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. Officials have not announced where the immigrants will be moved to, though they said this group entered Bengkulu through Padang and Pekanbaru. Hasanudin noted that the repatriation process for illegal immigrants to their countries of origin would begin after they were settled into a new location. He noted that one of the immigrants, an Iranian, presented a passport. "But it is not clear if the man from Iran, who has a passport, will voluntarily return to his country of origin or not, because this is being coordinated with the International Organization for Migration (IOM)," Hasanudin said. He added that these illegal immigrants were recently apprehended by Kepahiang police while they were traveling from Pekanbaru to Jakarta.