Undocumented migrants are escorted onto an immigration enforcement truck following a raid in Sandakan.
KOTA KINABALU: An immigration crackdown in Sandakan saw 238 undocumented migrants detained within 12 hours during large-scale integrated operations early Wednesday (June 4).
The operations, codenamed Ops Sapu and Ops Mahir, targeted squatter settlements, construction sites and wood-processing factories.
They began at around 1.30am and covered four hotspots, including Batu 8 and Batu 10 settlements.
Sabah Immigration Department director Datuk Sh Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof said a total of 480 individuals were screened during the raids, which ended before noon.
The operations involved 71 officers from the Sandakan, Tawau, Lahad Datu and Kota Kinabalu districts, as well as the department’s enforcement division.
“The 238 people detained comprise 88 adult men, 88 adult women, 30 boys and 32 girls,” she said in a statement.
They were detained for not possessing valid documents under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, overstaying under Section 15(1)(c), misuse of passes under Section 39(b), and employing undocumented migrants under Section 55B, among other offences.
To date, 2,730 undocumented migrants have been detained across Sabah this year, out of more than 13,850 people checked.
Of that number, 6,058 individuals have been deported to their countries of origin, while 53 employers have been prosecuted.
“We remind employers in Sabah to cooperate by ensuring that their workers have valid travel documents before hiring them, especially in factories or the construction sector, to avoid facing legal action,” said Sitti.
She said such enforcement operations will continue in districts including Semporna, Kota Kinabalu, Tawau and Sandakan to uphold immigration laws across the state.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday (June 3), the department carried out a repatriation programme involving 127 undocumented migrants, transferring them from the Tawau Immigration Depot to Nunukan, Indonesia via ferry.
Those deported included 105 adult men, 19 adult women, three boys and one girl, ranging in age from one month to 64 years. The children sent back were accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.
The detainees were found to have violated Sections 15(1)(c) and 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for overstaying and entering the country without valid documentation. They had completed their prison terms and were returned after their travel documents were processed.
All have been blacklisted in the department’s system according to the nature of their offences.
To date, 1,173 Indonesian nationals have been deported via sea, contributing to the overall figure of 6,053 foreign nationals repatriated this year.
Immigration has warned that action will be taken against employers and premises owners found hiring undocumented foreigners or individuals violating the conditions of their passes.
It urged employers to only hire foreign workers through legal channels, adding that enforcement operations will be intensified to combat the presence of undocumented migrants.
