Illegal immigration must be checked at all costs

Don’t only blame illegals

I READ with interest your report, “So long, farewell, illegals” (The Star, Oct 14).

Illegal immigrants have been told to go home during the upcoming Deepavali and Hari Raya festivals before the authorities launch a major nationwide crackdown next year.
Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad said they should return home using “the way they came in” and not come back.

It is alarming to note that on average about 70 to 80 illegal immigrants are arrested daily while 800 to 900 foreign workers arrive at the KL International Airport daily.
This is to say that about 10% of immigrants are illegal. What about the number of those who go undetected?

It speaks a great deal of the effectiveness of the mechanisms we have to check the influx of such illegal people into the country.

Undeniably the presence of these immigrants in large numbers has already caused so much social problems in the country, including a rise in immoral activities and crime.

This is not the first time such warnings of severe reprisal were issued on illegal immigrants. Similar nationwide crackdowns have been carried out on numerous occasions before, but these illegal immigrants keep coming back.

Despite all the punishment meted out why are they coming back? It may be due to the loopholes in the laws but, more importantly, it must be checked to see whether the existing laws are properly enforced.

Unless there are some unseen factors that encourage these illegal immigrants into the country, it would not be possible for them to enter via the back door.

Severe action on these immigrants may help in the short term. We must remember that many of these poor people are brought into the country in dubious ways.
Many are stranded without passports, jobs or money. Punishing them may not only be inhumane but also unfair.

The factors and the root cause behind this national menace must be identified and severe action taken against those involved.

The enforcement agencies entrusted with the task of checking the influx of illegal immigrants must act without fear or favour.

In the end, as in all other national problems, it comes down to whether we have the will to do it.
DR CHRIS ANTHONY,