Immigration Department director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh. – Filepic
PUTRAJAYA: A total of 51,838 undocumented immigrants have been detained following enforcement operations nationwide this year, says Datuk Ruslin Jusoh.
The Immigration Department director-general said he understood the concerns of some Malaysians over the presence of illegals in the country.
"As such, we have conducted 9,289 operations at 224 hotspots around the country between Jan 1 and July 16.
"It is an average of about 51 operations daily.
"89,226 foreigners have been inspected and from that, 51,838 undocumented foreigners have been detained so far," he said in an interview recently.
Ruslin noted that the country relies on foreign labour to fulfill the needs of several economic sectors, including construction, service and agriculture.
"We have about 2.4 million registered foreign workers in the country.
"However, we will take stern action on foreigners who violated immigration regulations, such as overstaying and abuse of work passes," he said.
At the same time, Ruslin said the department had detained 572 employers for hiring illegals.
"One of the factors that spurred the increase of illegals in the country are employers hiring them.
"Hiring, harbouring and letting undocumented immigrants stay at premises are offences under the Immigration Act.
"We urge all employers to adhere to regulations. If they do, then the illegals will not have anywhere else to go for work," he said.
Ruslin added that some employers preferred to hire illegals for various reasons, including escaping from paying levies.
"They wanted to reduce costs, and when we nab them, they come up with various excuses, such as the process to hire foreign workers being too complicated," he said.
Ruslin also reminded all employers to report to the department if any foreign worker had fled from their employment.
"It is compulsory for them to do so. It will enable us to put those who fled in a list, and we can apprehend them," he said.
On the issue of conditions at Immigration depots, Ruslin said the department has 20 depots and three Baitul Mahabbah centres nationwide.
"The depots and centres are able to accommodate a total of 20,750 individuals.
"Between Jan 1 and July 14, a total of 15,406 detainees had been placed at the depots and centres," he said.
Ruslin explained that the Baitul Mahabbah is a centre where foreign children aged 10 and below are placed.
"It is a facility where the children can live freely within the confines of the compound and not placed in cells.
"It has playgrounds and teachers are also provided to conduct classes for the children.
"So far, we have three centres - in Negri Sembilan, Sabah and Sarawak," he said.
Ruslin said a Baitul Mahabbah centre will be opened in Kelantan and Kedah next month.
"It is an initiative, which started last year, where we don't want children to be placed in detention.
"It has provided a more conducive environment for mothers and their children," he said.
As for depots, Ruslin said the department is in the process of getting a new one in Jawi, Penang, to replace the one in Juru.
"We will be improving the facilities in depots from time to time.
"In principle, we don't want to detain illegals for long in depots. We want to deport them as soon as we can as accommodating them incurs a high cost for the country.
“Thus we need the cooperation of the respective embassies and consulates to speed up the documentation process (for those detained).
"A total of 21,634 illegals have been deported so far this year," Ruslin added.
