JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities plan to inspect grocery store shelves to check compliance with a law requiring halal labels on food items from Friday, officials said, although some importers and restaurants face hurdles in complying.
The world’s biggest Muslim-majority country adopted a measure in 2014 requiring the labeling for restaurants and food products, setting an Oct. 17 deadline to ensure items are suitable for consumption under Islamic law.
While most businesses in the nation of 280 million have complied, along with some major global food producers, others say they need more time.
“They (some members) want to be part of Indonesia’s strong market for halal products, but are still encountering complex supply chains and lack of clear guidelines,” said Lydia Ruddy, managing director of the American Chamber of Commerce.
“These potentially can lead to trade disruptions and higher costs,” she told Reuters, adding that AmCham was in talks with the government on the matter.
She called for more foreign certifiers to speed inspection of products and raw materials abroad so as to help the affected AmCham members.
The law requires products or restaurants without the certification to declare they do not comply with Islamic law, a step that could hit sales.
Islamic law prohibits consumption of pork or intoxicants such as alcohol, while meat can only be eaten if the animals were slaughtered by prescribed methods.
The halal certifying body BPJPH has asked the government for a two-year waiver on some raw materials used in the food and beverages industry, as well as products of small businesses, but the president has yet to sign off, its head, Aqil Irham, said.
With Indonesia’s President-designate Prabowo Subianto set to take over from the incumbent Joko Widodo next weekend, it was not clear if such a dispensation could be issued in time.
The presidential office did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The trade ministry deferred questions on the waiver to the BPJPH.
Authorities plan inspections on Friday to check compliance and issue a formal warning to producers of items that lack clear labels, said domestic trade official Moga Simatupang.
“We will take administrative action against non-compliance, so we urge importers to immediately register to get halal labels,” he added.
In the absence of compliance, such products will be removed from stores, he added, without setting a timeframe.
Most of the 400 members of the Indonesian Food and Beverage Industries Association have complied, but restaurants and hotels face difficulties because authorities need time to check menu offerings, said Adhi Lukman, the group’s chairman.
Conservative interpretations of Islam have gained ground in Indonesia in the past few years, ushering in major changes to the economy, across industries from entertainment to banking.
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Indonesia to check grocery shelves as deadline for halal labels nears
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Indonesia to check grocery shelves as deadline for halal labels nears
- World’s biggest Muslim-majority country adopted a measure in 2014 requiring the labeling for restaurants and food products
- An October 17 deadline was set to ensure items are suitable for consumption under Islamic law
Court records raise doubts that ICE is detaining the ‘worst of the worst’ in Maine
- Federal officials say more than 100 people have been detained statewide enforcement ‘Operation Catch of the Day’
- ICE has said the operation is targeting about 1,400 immigrants in a state of about 1.4 million people
PORTLAND, Maine: Immigration and Customs Enforcement has highlighted the detention of people whom it called some of Maine’s most dangerous criminals during operations this past week, but court records paint a more complicated picture.
Federal officials say more than 100 people have been detained statewide in what ICE dubbed “Operation Catch of the Day,” a reference to the fishing industry. ICE said in a statement that it was arresting the “worst of the worst,” including “child abusers and hostage takers.”
Court records show some were violent felons. But they also show other detainees with unresolved immigration proceedings or who were arrested but never convicted of a crime.
Immigration attorneys and local officials say similar concerns have surfaced in other cities where ICE has conducted enforcement surges and many of those targeted lacked criminal records.
One case highlighted by ICE that involves serious felony offenses and criminal convictions is that of Sudan native Dominic Ali. ICE said Ali was convicted of false imprisonment, aggravated assault, assault, obstructing justice and violating a protective order.
Court records show Ali was convicted in 2004 of violating a protective order and in 2008 of second-degree assault, false imprisonment and obstructing the reporting of a crime. In the latter case, prosecutors said he threw his girlfriend to the floor of her New Hampshire apartment, kicked her and broke her collarbone.
“His conduct amounted to nothing less than torture,” Judge James Barry said in 2009 before sentencing Ali to five to 10 years in prison.
Ali was later paroled to ICE custody, and in 2013 an immigration judge ordered his removal. No further information was available from the Executive Office for Immigration Review, and it remains unclear what happened after that order.
Other cases were more nuanced, like that of Elmara Correia, an Angola native whom ICE highlighted in its public promotion of the operation, saying she was “arrested previously for endangering the welfare of a child.”
Maine court records show someone with that name was charged in 2023 with violating a law related to learner’s permits for new drivers, a case that was later dismissed.
Correia filed a petition Wednesday challenging her detention, and a judge issued a temporary emergency order barring authorities from transferring her from Massachusetts, where she is being held. Her attorney said she entered the United States legally on a student visa about eight years ago and has never been subject to expedited removal proceedings.
“Was she found not guilty, or are we just going to be satisfied that she was arrested?” Portland Mayor Mark Dion said during a news conference in which he raised concerns that ICE failed to distinguish between arrests and convictions or explain whether sentences were served.
Dion also pointed to another person named in the release: Dany Lopez-Cortez, whom ICE said is a “criminal illegal alien” from Guatemala who was convicted of operating under the influence.
ICE highlighted Lopez-Cortez’s case among a small group of examples it said reflected the types of arrests made during the operation. Dion questioned whether an operating-under-the-influence conviction, a serious offense but one commonly seen in Maine, should rise to the level of ICE’s “worst of the worst” public narrative.
Boston immigration attorney Caitlyn Burgess said her office filed habeas petitions Thursday on behalf of four clients who were detained in Maine and transferred to Massachusetts.
The most serious charge any of them faced was driving without a license, Burgess said, and all had pending immigration court cases or applications.
“Habeas petitions are often the only tool available to stop rapid transfers that sever access to counsel and disrupt pending immigration proceedings,” she said.
Attorney Samantha McHugh said she filed five habeas petitions on behalf of Maine detainees Thursday and expected to file three more soon.
“None of these individuals have any criminal record,” said McHugh, who is representing a total of eight detainees. “They were simply at work, eating lunch, when unmarked vehicles arrived and immigration agents trespassed on private property to detain them.”
Federal court records show that immigration cases involving criminal convictions can remain unresolved or be revisited years later.
Another whose mug shot was included in materials on “the worst of the worst” of those detained in Maine is Ambessa Berhe.
Berhe was convicted of cocaine possession and assaulting a police officer in 1996 and cocaine possession in 2003.
In 2006 a federal appeals court in Boston vacated a removal order for him and sent the case back to the Board of Immigration Appeals for further consideration.
According to the ruling, Berhe was born in Ethiopia and later taken to Sudan by his adoptive parents. The family was admitted to the United States as refugees in 1987, when he was about 9.
ICE has said the operation is targeting about 1,400 immigrants in a state of about 1.4 million people, roughly four percent of whom are foreign-born.
Federal officials say more than 100 people have been detained statewide in what ICE dubbed “Operation Catch of the Day,” a reference to the fishing industry. ICE said in a statement that it was arresting the “worst of the worst,” including “child abusers and hostage takers.”
Court records show some were violent felons. But they also show other detainees with unresolved immigration proceedings or who were arrested but never convicted of a crime.
Immigration attorneys and local officials say similar concerns have surfaced in other cities where ICE has conducted enforcement surges and many of those targeted lacked criminal records.
One case highlighted by ICE that involves serious felony offenses and criminal convictions is that of Sudan native Dominic Ali. ICE said Ali was convicted of false imprisonment, aggravated assault, assault, obstructing justice and violating a protective order.
Court records show Ali was convicted in 2004 of violating a protective order and in 2008 of second-degree assault, false imprisonment and obstructing the reporting of a crime. In the latter case, prosecutors said he threw his girlfriend to the floor of her New Hampshire apartment, kicked her and broke her collarbone.
“His conduct amounted to nothing less than torture,” Judge James Barry said in 2009 before sentencing Ali to five to 10 years in prison.
Ali was later paroled to ICE custody, and in 2013 an immigration judge ordered his removal. No further information was available from the Executive Office for Immigration Review, and it remains unclear what happened after that order.
Other cases were more nuanced, like that of Elmara Correia, an Angola native whom ICE highlighted in its public promotion of the operation, saying she was “arrested previously for endangering the welfare of a child.”
Maine court records show someone with that name was charged in 2023 with violating a law related to learner’s permits for new drivers, a case that was later dismissed.
Correia filed a petition Wednesday challenging her detention, and a judge issued a temporary emergency order barring authorities from transferring her from Massachusetts, where she is being held. Her attorney said she entered the United States legally on a student visa about eight years ago and has never been subject to expedited removal proceedings.
“Was she found not guilty, or are we just going to be satisfied that she was arrested?” Portland Mayor Mark Dion said during a news conference in which he raised concerns that ICE failed to distinguish between arrests and convictions or explain whether sentences were served.
Dion also pointed to another person named in the release: Dany Lopez-Cortez, whom ICE said is a “criminal illegal alien” from Guatemala who was convicted of operating under the influence.
ICE highlighted Lopez-Cortez’s case among a small group of examples it said reflected the types of arrests made during the operation. Dion questioned whether an operating-under-the-influence conviction, a serious offense but one commonly seen in Maine, should rise to the level of ICE’s “worst of the worst” public narrative.
Boston immigration attorney Caitlyn Burgess said her office filed habeas petitions Thursday on behalf of four clients who were detained in Maine and transferred to Massachusetts.
The most serious charge any of them faced was driving without a license, Burgess said, and all had pending immigration court cases or applications.
“Habeas petitions are often the only tool available to stop rapid transfers that sever access to counsel and disrupt pending immigration proceedings,” she said.
Attorney Samantha McHugh said she filed five habeas petitions on behalf of Maine detainees Thursday and expected to file three more soon.
“None of these individuals have any criminal record,” said McHugh, who is representing a total of eight detainees. “They were simply at work, eating lunch, when unmarked vehicles arrived and immigration agents trespassed on private property to detain them.”
Federal court records show that immigration cases involving criminal convictions can remain unresolved or be revisited years later.
Another whose mug shot was included in materials on “the worst of the worst” of those detained in Maine is Ambessa Berhe.
Berhe was convicted of cocaine possession and assaulting a police officer in 1996 and cocaine possession in 2003.
In 2006 a federal appeals court in Boston vacated a removal order for him and sent the case back to the Board of Immigration Appeals for further consideration.
According to the ruling, Berhe was born in Ethiopia and later taken to Sudan by his adoptive parents. The family was admitted to the United States as refugees in 1987, when he was about 9.
ICE has said the operation is targeting about 1,400 immigrants in a state of about 1.4 million people, roughly four percent of whom are foreign-born.
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