Immigrants getting on the ferry to head home.
KOTA KINABALU: Undocumented immigrants who finished serving their sentences for immigration offences were among more than 150 individuals repatriated from here on Thursday (Jan 23).
The deportation exercise involved 165 Indonesians comprising 90 men, 39 women, 17 boys and 19 girls aged between three months and 76 years, said Sabah Immigration director Datuk Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof.
In a statement, she said they were sent home by sea from the Tawau Ferry Terminal to Nunukan, Indonesia.
All expenses were borne by the migrants themselves, she said, adding that they have been blacklisted from entering Sabah.
Sitti said this operation brings the total number deported from Sabah this year to 337.
Immigration officials preparing the immigrants before deportation.
The others sent home previously comprised 145 Filipinos, 14 Pakistanis, 11 Chinese nationals and two from other countries, she added.
“We are working hard to deport as many detainees as we can from Sabah, pending the travel and identification documents from their home countries,” she said.
Sitti explained that the offences they had committed included not having proper travel documents, overstaying, or misusing their visit passes.
She said employers found hiring undocumented migrants would also face consequences.
She urged them to hire foreign workers using proper channels.
