Menembus Batas, Melanggengkan Kerentanan: Aplikasi Teori Mezzadra dan Neilson terhadap Pekerja Migran Ilegal Indonesia di Belanda

Andi Zahra Sudirman

doi:10.62383/konsensus.v3i3.1812

Authors

Andi Zahra Sudirman Universitas Hasanuddin

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62383/konsensus.v3i3.1812

Keywords:

Differential Inclusion, Dutch, Illegal Migrant, Indonesia, Shadow Labor

Abstract

The phenomenon of undocumented Indonesian migrant workers in the Netherlands is a complex issue that is often viewed merely as an administrative problem or a failure of border control. This study aims to explain how structural mechanisms and Dutch migration policies systematically produce and perpetuate the vulnerability of these migrant workers in the informal sector. Using a qualitative-explanatory method, this study analyzes secondary data collected through a literature review using the theoretical framework of Sandro Mezzadra and Brett Neilson, which encompasses three interconnected concepts: “Border as method,” “Multiplication of labor,” and “Differential inclusion.” The findings reveal that strict immigration regulations such as the Compulsory Identification Act and the Koppelingswet do not function as absolute instruments of expulsion. Rather, these regulations operate as filtering mechanisms that deliberately produce “illegal” status to create a cheap, flexible labor force with minimal risk of social security claims. These exploitative conditions serve the needs of Dutch domestic capitalism to fill structural gaps in the informal labor market (shadow labor). On the other hand, the survival of these Indonesia’s migrants amid the absence of formal legal protection is heavily supported by social infrastructure in the form of Indonesian diaspora community networks, as well as the ambiguous role of public service professionals acting on humanitarian grounds. This study concludes that the unequal inclusion experienced by Indonesian migrant workers is not an administrative failure, but rather a consequence of global political-economic power relations maintained in the interests of capital.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Bhambra, G. K. (2014). Theory for a global age: Connected sociologies. Bloomsbury Academic. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781472544377

Cabus, S. J., & Somers, M. A. (2015). Mismatch between education and the labour market in the Netherlands: Is it a reality or a myth? The employers’ perspective. TIER Working Paper Series.

Castellanos, R. L. (2025). Labour roots and migration routes: Precarious employment as driver of irregular migration amongst women workers. Frontiers in Sociology.

CNN Indonesia. (2025, March 15). 5,2 juta pekerja migran RI terdaftar, 4,3 juta diduga ilegal.

Eddyono, S. (2021). Perempuan pekerja migran non-reguler: Konflik hukum dalam pengaturan perdagangan orang dan penyelundupan orang. Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan Universitas Indonesia, 1046.

Editorial Desk. (2025, May 16). Sumbangan besar pekerja migran. NEXT Indonesia Center.

Efsari, H. N. (2023). Perlindungan hukum irregular migrant workers Indonesia dalam perspektif hak asasi manusia. Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan Universitas Indonesia, 588–589.

Gemeente Amsterdam. (2012). Legisverordening Amsterdam 2013.

Genova, N. P. (2002). Migrant “illegality” and deportability in everyday life. Annual Review of Anthropology, 419–447. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.31.040402.085432

Ibrahim. (2015). Metodologi penelitian kualitatif. Perpustakaan Nasional: Katalog Dalam Terbitan.

I-CLAIM Project. (2024). The legal and policy infrastructure of irregularity: The Netherlands.

International Labour Organization. (2024). ILO global estimates on international migrant workers (Executive Summary).

Khodijah, U. (2025). Pekerja informal adalah: Mengenal definisi, ciri-ciri, dan contohnya. Gramedia Blog.

Kox, M., & Staring, R. (2020). If you don’t have documents or a legal procedure, you are out! Making humanitarian organizations partner in migration control. European Journal of Criminology. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370820932079

Leun, J. V. (2006). Excluding illegal migrants in the Netherlands: Between national policies and local implementation. West European Politics, 310–324. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402380500512650

Mahshushah. (2024). Illegality and identity: The complex belonging of undocumented Indonesian migrants in Amsterdam. Lembaran Antropologi, 3(2), 112–131. https://doi.org/10.22146/la.19075

Mayaratih, Y. (2021, May 26). Jumlah diaspora Indonesia dan keturunan 10% penduduk Belanda: Potensi pasar yang besar! Kabar Belanda.

McAuliffe, M., & Oucho, L. A. (Eds.). (2024). World migration report 2024. International Organization for Migration.

Mezzadra, S., & Neilson, B. (2011). Borderscapes of differential inclusion: Subjectivity and struggles on the threshold of justice’s excess. In É. Balibar, S. Mezzadra, & R. Samaddar (Eds.), The borders of justice (pp. 182–203). Temple University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt14bt9x0.12

Mezzadra, S., & Neilson, B. (2013). Border as method, or, The multiplication of labor. Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1131cvw

Moleong, L. J. (2007). Metodologi penelitian kualitatif (Ed. revisi). Remaja Rosdakarya.

Mudzakkir, A. (2019). Pekerja Indonesia di Belanda: Studi kasus pekerja tidak terampil dan tidak terdokumentasi. Jurnal Kajian Wilayah, 47–69.

Poulantzas, N. (1969). The problem of the capitalist state. New Left Review, 58, 67–78.

Riawati, S. (2020). Orang Indo di Belanda: Identitas campuran dan pengelolaan keragaman. UMBARA: Indonesian Journal of Anthropology, 5(1), 16–20. https://doi.org/10.24198/umbara.v5i1.26843

Serpa, R. C. (2021). The exceptional becomes everyday: Border control, attrition and exclusion from within. Social Sciences, 10(9), 329. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10090329

Soraya, Y. (2018). Illegal Indonesian migrant workers in the Netherlands: A reflection on illegal Chinese migrant workers in Indonesia (A comparative study). Indonesian Journal of International Law, 15(3). https://doi.org/10.17304/ijil.vol15.3.731

Sugiyono. (2019). Metode penelitian kuantitatif, kualitatif, dan R&D. Alfabeta.

Sulung, U., & Muspawi, M. (2024). Memahami sumber data penelitian: Primer, sekunder, dan tersier. Jurnal Edu Research IICLS, 110.

Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal. (1995). Wijziging van de Vreemdelingenwet… Memorie van toelichting (Kamerstukken II, 24 233, nr. 3). https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/kst-24233-3.pdf

Valet, P., Sauer, C., & Tolsma, J. (2021). Preferences for work arrangements: A discrete choice experiment. PLOS ONE, 16(7), e0254483. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254483

Van der Leun, J. P., & Kloosterman, R. (2006). Going underground: The labour market position of undocumented immigrants in the Netherlands. Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 97(1), 59–68. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9663.2006.00496.x

Van der Velden, R. K. W., & Wolbers, M. H. J. (2007). How much does education matter and why? European Sociological Review, 23(1), 65–80.

Wenas, S. (2019). Kebijakan restriksi imigrasi Belanda dalam upaya integrasi dan keamanan nasional (Doctoral dissertation, Universitas Airlangga).

Wolbers, M. H., Graaf, P. M., & Ultee, W. C. (2001). Trends in the occupational returns to educational credentials in the Dutch labor market. Acta Sociologica, 44(1), 67–78.

World Organisation for Documentation and Information (WODC). (2026, March 31). Summary estimates of foreign nationals residing unlawfully in the Netherlands.

Zulfikar, F. (2025, February 24). 10 negara di Eropa dengan WNI terbanyak, Belanda nomor satu? Detik.com.