In a written parliamentary reply, Saifuddin said 3,060 operations were carried out from Jan 1 to May 15, resulting in the arrest of 8,065 undocumented migrants and 125 employers.

Additionally, 12,550 people were arrested after surrendering themselves at the points of entry into the country for various immigration offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and Immigration Regulations 1963.

Saifuddin said this in response to a question from Jerai MP Sabri Azit, who asked about the home ministry’s plans to address the issue of foreigners misusing visa facilities to live in Malaysia.

Saifuddin added that as of May 15, there were 11,068 detainees at immigration detention centres nationwide, comprising 8,427 men, 1,775 women, 542 boys and 427 girls.

Of that number, 3,743 (33.8%) were Myanmar nationals, followed by 3,004 (27.1%) Filipinos and 2,784 (25.2%) Indonesians.

The immigration department also recorded 18,687 deportations as of May 18, of which 7,189 were Indonesians, 4,113 were Myanmar nationals and 3,319 were Filipinos.

Saifuddin said there had been 12.1 million foreign arrivals this year up to May 15.

A total of 19,115 people were denied entry, including 6,671 Indonesians, 3,514 Bangladeshis, 2,647 Pakistanis and 2,444 Indians.