KOTA KINABALU: The delay in repatriating undocumented migrants is due to restrictions by their respective home countries which do not allow large numbers of their citizens to return at one time, says Immigration Department director-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud.

       He said those countries only allowed for about 20 to 30 citizens to be deported at one time during the Covid-19 pandemic.

       He said there were about 5,000 undocumented migrants at Immigration depots nationwide awaiting deportation.

       He said the countries concerned such as the Philippines and Indonesia said they did not have the space to accommodate large numbers of repatriated citizens at one time.

       He told reporters after an operation at a squatter settlement in Likas here Monday (March 14) that the deportation of the migrants was an ongoing exercise not only from depots in Sabah but throughout the country.

       However, he said the deportation of those from India and Pakistan was done quickly.

       However, he added that the rate is expected to improve after discussions with authorities in the Philippines.

       "We expect about 850 undocumented migrants from the Philippines to be sent back to their country of origin per trip in the near future," he said.

       If the Philippines required Covid-19 tests, the cost would be borne by the families of those being repatriated.

       Meanwhile, Sabah Immigration director Siti Saleha Habib Yussof said 117 undocumented migrants were arrested during the operation at the squatter settlement in Likas between 12.10am and 2am on Monday.

       She said a total of 46 adults (12 men and 34 women) together with 71 children were detained for various offences including not having valid travel documents.