The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Friday it arrested more than 2,000 illegal aliens this year as a result of its intensified campaign against foreigners who violate the country’s immigration laws.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said that since January, a total of 1,836 illegal aliens were arrested in various operations conducted nationwide, mostly in Metro Manila, by agents of the bureau’s intelligence division.
Morente said 421 foreign fugitives were also apprehended by the bureau’s fugitive search unit (FSU) during the period.
“There will be no be letup in our drive against these illegal aliens. We will continue to go after them and deport them back to their homelands,” the BI chief said.
BI acting intelligence chief Fortunato Manahan Jr. disclosed that majority of those arrested were Chinese nationals caught illegally staying and working in the country, many of whom were engaged in cyber fraud activities and unauthorized online gaming operations.
The list include the more than 500 illegal Chinese workers arrested in Pasay City last October, and more than 300 of their compatriots who were rounded up in various establishments in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan last September.
Only recently, 342 Chinese nationals were arrested in several floors of a large condominium building in Bago Bantay, Quezon City, for operating a telecom scam and working without permits.
Manahan also noted that it was a busy year for BI agents assigned in the South as there have been more arrests of illegal aliens in Mindanao in 2019 than in previous years.
“Some of those we arrested were not only illegally working there. They were also suspected of involvement in terrorism while others are wanted fugitives,” he said.
BI-Mindanao agents also arrested several Indian nationals who were the subjects of complaints from the public for their usurious lending activities, as well as aliens with reported links to terrorist groups. (Jun Ramirez)
