Jakarta. US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has ensnared 15 Indonesians so far with one being deported from the country, according to a senior diplomat.

Immigration enforcement has become a major part of the Trump 2.0 administration. Trump rose to power on January 20 and since then, the massive deportation program has seen countless migrants to be held in the US custody. Foreign Affairs Ministry’s citizen protection director Judha Nugraha told the press on Monday that at least a dozen Indonesians were in the mix.

“To date, [Trump’s immigration policy] has affected 15 Indonesians in the US. Some are detained. One of the 15 [Indonesians] has already been deported. These people have violated immigration laws,” Foreign Affairs Ministry’s citizen protection director Judha Nugraha told the press in Jakarta on Monday.

Judha said that Indonesia’s diplomatic missions in the US had already been in touch with the local authorities, including the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He also admitted that AWH -- an Indonesian who got detained by federal agents after his student visa was revoked in late March -- was among the detainees. In 2022, AWH got sued for committing property damage (fourth-degree offense) during a George Floyd protest. Floyd was a black man who died in police custody after being kneed on the neck for several minutes by a white officer in Minneapolis in May 2020. His death sparked massive racial justice protests in the US.

“Our embassy in Chicago has already been in talks with him [AWH], his American wife, and lawyer. However, we refuse to disclose more details due to his family’s wishes to protect his privacy,” Judha said.

About 1.4 million foreigners are on ICE’s non-detained docket with final orders of removal as of Nov. 24, 2024. Some 4,276 are Indonesians. Anyone on this list means that they have received orders to leave by the immigration courts, but still remain in the country. These people are also not held in ICE’s detention centers, but are at risk of deportation.

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