It arrested 14,361 undocumented migrants during these raids, its director-general Ruslin Jusoh said.

He said during the same period, 139 employers were arrested for various offences, including for employing and harbouring these migrants.

Ruslin said the immigration department would continue to crack down on undocumented foreigners even though they are implementing the migrant repatriation programme from March 1.

“It should be noted that the department is not only targeting illegal immigrants but also employers. Some employers want to avoid the process of hiring foreign workers because they do not want to pay the levy,” he said.

The migrant repatriation programme will be implemented from March 1 to Dec 31. This allows illegal immigrants to voluntarily return to their countries of origin after meeting the conditions set by the immigration department.

Ruslin said his department was carrying out checks on businesses employing foreign labour. This included wholesale markets and educational institutions that accept international students.

The department has also tightened controls and inspections at the country’s borders, with foreign visitors entering Malaysia being required to present their return tickets to their countries of origin.

Ruslin said as of Feb 15, a total of 2,123,049 foreign workers were in Malaysia. The highest number came from Bangladesh at 786,795, followed by Indonesia (496,083), Nepal (367,498), Myanmar (163,324) and India (119,706).