Russia will deport more than 2,000 undocumented migrants following a recent series of police raids, the Moscow branch of Russia’s Interior Ministry announced Thursday.
The weeklong raids in the Russian capital, dubbed “Operation Nelegal 2024,” uncovered more than 13,000 violations of immigration law, according to the ministry’s statement.
It said more than 10,000 foreigners were “brought to justice” and more than 2,000 faced “administrative expulsion” and deportation following court orders.
Russia deported around 9,000 foreign citizens during the first phase of “Operation Nelegal 2024” in June.
Authorities in Russia have adopted a tougher line on migration since the deadly concert hall attack outside Moscow in March. The four suspected gunmen behind the shooting are all citizens of Tajikistan, one of several Central Asian republics where an overwhelming majority of Russia’s labor migrants come from.
President Vladimir Putin signed legislation in August establishing a “deportation regime” that allows for the surveillance and expulsion of undocumented migrants without a court order. The new laws will take effect on Feb. 5, 2025.
Russia’s Interior Ministry reported last month that the number of migrants in the country dropped from 8.5 million in all of 2023 to 6.1 million as of September 2024.
