Malaysia detains 186 undocumented migrants, Including 26 Myanmar nationals

Mizzima

Malaysia’s Immigration Department (JIM) detained 186 undocumented foreigners, including 26 Myanmar nationals, in a raid on buildings housing foreign workers near Pasar Pudu in Kuala Lumpur in June, according to a JIM statement.

The operation, which began shortly after midnight, involved 137 officers from the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Selangor immigration departments, the Royal Malaysia Police, and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), JIM said. Of 320 foreign nationals checked, 186 were detained on suspicion of various offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63, including overstaying and failing to carry valid travel documents or passes.

The detained Myanmar nationals comprised 13 men and 13 women, according to JIM’s breakdown. Bangladeshi nationals made up the largest group detained, at 118, followed by 28 Indonesians, five Vietnamese, four Nepalis, two Indians, one Pakistani, and two Chinese nationals. All those detained were taken to immigration depots for investigation and further action, JIM said, adding that DBKL will continue similar joint operations at identified hotspot locations.

The raid comes as Malaysia is rolling out a new national refugee registration system that has drawn scrutiny from rights groups. Fortify Rights said on 1 June that the first phase of the Dokumen Pendaftaran Pelarian (DPP) covers refugee status determination for 4,000 detained refugees, mainly Rohingya from Myanmar, and that a parallel registration gap could leave many previously UNHCR-registered refugees unregistered until 2029, heightening the risk of arrest or deportation due to administrative delays.

The group also cited the case of a Rohingya refugee with a valid UNHCR card who was told by immigration officers, “The UN is powerless against us… you have to be sent back [to Myanmar],” before being forcibly returned in September last year.

Myanmar nationals constitute the largest nationality group held in Malaysia’s immigration detention centres, at 8,884 individuals as of March, including 5,102 Rohingya, out of more than 21,000 migrants and refugees held nationwide, Fortify Rights said in a 12 March report. Human Rights Watch said in a 4 May report that Malaysian authorities arrested about 92,000 irregular migrants in 2025, compared with 12,000 in 2021, as officials called 2025 the “year of enforcement.”