KUALA LUMPUR – The Sabah Immigration Department has deported 9,938 illegal immigrants from four detention depots in the state to their countries of origin from 2021 to March 27.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said it involved 2,497 illegal immigrants in 2021, 5,450 in 2022, and 1,991 illegal immigrants from January 1 to March 27 this year.
“The Home Ministry is stepping up efforts to deport detainees to their countries of origin by holding regular negotiations with the Philippine and Indonesian embassies to speed up the repatriation process,” he said during the question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat today.
He was replying to a question from Lo Su Fui (Tawau-GRS), who wanted to know about the actions taken against illegal immigrants in Sabah, especially in Tawau, who were causing social and security problems that worried the local residents.
Shamsul said Sabah Immigration Department statistics up to March 27 showed that there were 4,655 illegal immigrants detained at four immigration depots in Sabah, namely in Papar, Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Tawau.
He said, based on enforcement activities involving business premises and enterprises, 1,076 enforcement operations were carried out with the arrest of 1,881 illegal immigrants and 45 employers throughout 2021.
In 2022, the department also carried out 700 enforcement operations involving 1,437 arrests of illegal immigrants and 14 employers for various immigration offences.
“A total of 265 operations, 487 arrests, including two employers, and 6,405 inspections were made so far this year,” he said.
He said the Home Ministry views the problem seriously, which requires an ongoing eradication strategy and is currently refining the strategic plan for enforcement against illegal immigrants. – Bernama, March 29, 2023
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