Over 7,500 undocumented migrants nabbed this year, says Hamzah

PETALING JAYA: A total of 7,547 undocumented migrants have been detained by the authorities this year, says Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.

The Home Minister said of this figure, a total of 3,313 individuals were deemed to have violated Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act, which is to enter and be in the country without a valid pass.

“They have come in through the ‘lorong tikus’ (hidden routes) via land, rivers, and the sea. They work and do business illegally without an employer or a host.

“They are very dangerous because they do not adhere to the Covid-19 SOP and can potentially spread the virus into the community, ” he said in a press conference.

He said in 2020, a total of 22,671 undocumented migrants had been detained, with 14,726 violating Immigration laws.

As for current operations on undocumented migrants, Hamzah said that foreign workers who have valid documents and those who have sponsors are not those who will be detained.

Hamzah also said that the undocumented migrants would be afraid to come out to get the Covid-19 vaccine as they were afraid of getting detained.

He, however, assured that those who had overstayed in the country but had valid documents could still register themselves to be vaccinated.

He added that those with valid UNHCR cards would also not be detained.