KUALA LUMPUR: Following the E-Card Application deadline on 30th June, the Immigration Department has arrested 1,509 illegal immigrants including 752 Bangladeshis, 195 Indonesians, 117 Myanmar, 50 Filipinos, 45 Thais, and other immigrants from several nationalities.
Immigration Director General, Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali in a statement said, among those arrested are 1,314 men, 192 women and three children.
Besides that, he said, 28 employers were detained on Monday (3 July) and 86 people had been issued notices.
Following the end of the deadline, the Immigration Department had launched a massive enforcement and operations to detain illegal workers and their employers.
“Employers caught not abiding to the law can be charged under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Immigrants Act 2007 (Atipsom)” he said.
Mustafar also added, employers who hired illegals can also be charged under the Immigration Act 1959/63 under Sections 55A for illegally conveying a migrant, 55B for hiring illegal migrants, 55E for allowing migrants to enter and remain on the premises and 56(1)(d) for harbouring illegal migrants.
“Employers were given ample time to register their workers but they did not fully take this opportunity, so they will have to face the brunt of the law,” he said.
The E-Card was launched on February 15 and functioned as a temporary confirmation of employment for illegal workers and replaced valid travel documents from their countries.
The card was given out to employees for free and was valid until February 15, 2018.
The Immigration Department has reiterated that it would not extend the deadline for the E-Card Application. – Malaysia World News
