In this article, we will discuss the issue of illegal migrant workers from Indonesia, or migrant workers without official documents, which has become a social problem amid increasing global mobility. Thousands of Indonesians go abroad, mainly to Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Hong Kong, in an effort to improve their lives. However, behind the large amount of remittances that support many families, there is a terrible reality of exploitation, violence, and lack of legal protection. This phenomenon highlights systemic failures in migration management at the national and international levels, as well as individual vulnerability. If migration is intended to improve welfare, it has instead become a place of injustice. The unstable global economic system has victimized poor workers.
Moreover, this phenomenon reflects the paradox of globalization: on the one hand, it produces more social exclusion, while on the other hand it produces more openness and progress. Humanity is often forgotten when countries concentrate on economic liberalization and growth. In the case of migrant workers, this is evident in the lack of cross-border legal protection mechanisms and weak diplomacy to protect them. Therefore, the issue of illegal migrant workers is a reflection of persistent global inequality, not just an administrative or legal violation. The author argues that illegal labor practices reveal the dark side of transnational mobility, where the global economy connects people but fails to protect the international community. Therefore, the author focuses the discussion on three main arguments: the structural basis of global poverty, the lack of transnational protection, and the role of transnational civil society in protecting the rights of migrant workers.
Many people become illegal forced laborers for economic reasons. Many rural communities that do not have access to formal education and employment choose to work abroad. This is due to wage inequality and limited job opportunities within the country. Strong “push and pull” factors that drive labor mobility between developing and developed countries cause wage inequality in the global political economy. Because the official migration system is too complicated, expensive, and unfriendly to poor people in rural areas, many people choose illegal channels not because they intend to break the law. Many prospective employees have to sell family assets or borrow money from loan sharks to pay high administrative fees.
Amidst this situation, illegal recruitment organizations play an important role in spreading unrecorded migration. They operate in social spaces that are neglected by the state, using local trust relationships and social networks. They attract thousands of people through unofficial channels with promises of high salaries and welfare. In many cases, documents such as passports or employment contracts are forged, while prospective workers do not understand the dangers. As a result, thousands of Indonesian workers enter their destination countries without work permits, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and violence by employers and law enforcement officials.
This phenomenon illustrates the paradox of globalization: an increasingly connected world has actually deepened social and economic inequality between countries. The flow of goods, capital, and labor is not fair; the rich find it easier to cross borders, while the poor are trapped in a cycle of risky migration. Within the framework of transnational society, illegal migrant workers are symbols of unequal globalization. They move across national borders, yet remain marginalized within the global economic system. This situation shows that global mobility without social justice will only produce a new layer of society that is fragile and vulnerable to exploitation.
From the perspective of transnational society theory, these illegal migrant workers live in a space that does not fully belong to their country of origin, but is also not legally recognized by their destination country. They form cross-border social, economic, and cultural networks, but their existence is marked by uncertainty. Transnational mobility, which should bring prosperity, has instead become a source of new inequality. Globally, there is still a lack of protection for illegal migrant workers. Undocumented workers who are victims of violence have no access to justice in destination countries such as Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. Protection and law enforcement bureaucracy is still slow in Indonesia. The government has signed several international agreements, such as the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, but none have been properly implemented.
This failure shows how weak countries are in dealing with global society. Many workers who live “between two legal systems” are not protected by their destination country or their country of origin. They join a global system that needs cheap labor but does not guarantee safety. In this context, the term “shadow transnational society” has emerged, referring to cross-border communities that do not have adequate legal protection. This phenomenon confirms that globalization does not necessarily bring justice. Illegal migrant workers work hard in the informal sector, such as in households or plantations, but their participation is not recognized. In fact, the remittances they send are one of the pillars of the national economy. Ironically, they are still treated as “invisible citizens” in the international legal system.
When the state fails to provide protection, transnational civil society plays a vital role. Abroad, the Indonesian diaspora community and organizations such as Migrant CARE and Human Rights Watch play an important role in supporting and rescuing migrant workers. They support victims, their families, and international institutions in communicating with each other. This cross-border solidarity is often the only real way to help undocumented migrant workers. Civil society networks use social media as a new space to interact with people around the world beyond direct advocacy. Migrant workers can share experiences, seek help, and build solidarity through online platforms. These activities demonstrate a positive form of transnationalism, as individuals and communities across borders challenge global inequalities in simple yet impactful ways.
However, the role of civil society is not strong enough without state support. The government needs to strengthen protection diplomacy, update labor recruitment monitoring mechanisms, and provide access to information and training for prospective migrants at the village level. The protection of migrant workers should be a foreign policy priority, not just a domestic issue.
The three arguments above, namely the sources of economic inequality that drive illegal migration, the lack of transnational protection, and the role of cross-border civil society, have shown that illegal migration is a real part of transnational mobility. On the dark side, although globalization should improve welfare and open up opportunities for people below the poverty line, it has done the opposite. As a result, the protection of Indonesian migrant workers requires strong global cooperation between countries, international institutions, and civil society, in addition to domestic policies. The transnational Indonesian community should not be viewed as a dark shadow of an unstable global economic system; rather, they should be recognized as a valuable part of global power. Cross-border mobility can be a path to social justice, not a trap of uncertainty, if there are concrete actions and shared commitments.
