Some 512 irregular migrants were caught within the scope of the Shield Operations in Istanbul, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Thursday.

Yerlikaya said on social media that inspections and road checks were made in streets, parks, derelict buildings and apartments where foreigners could be found more densely as part of the fight against irregular migration and migrant smugglers. The operations were carried out in the Esenyurt district with the coordination of the Istanbul governorate and the provincial police and migration offices.

He stated that in the operation carried out with the participation of a team of 452 people, comprising police officers and Immigration Directorate personnel, the legal staying status of foreign nationals in Türkiye and whether they were in the province where they were registered were checked.

"318 out of 512 irregular migrants were caught in buildings which were densely populated. 41 homeowners who were found to have rented their homes despite knowing that these migrants were illegal migrants were fined and their homes were closed and sealed," Yerlikaya added.

He also said that mobile migration points were set up at 30 locations in Esenyurt.

The Directorate of Migration set up what it called "mobile migration points" to speed up the processing of irregular migrants. The migration points help law enforcement in the field to check for irregular migrants. They use a fingerprint database to check the identity of suspected irregular migrants and cut the red tape for legal migrants who have to prove that they have permits, often by visiting police stations. Mobile points will be available in the entire country in December.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced in July that efforts to curb irregular migration would be stepped up as public concerns about migration have increased.

Türkiye copes with the irregular migration phenomenon as crises across the world once again put it at the forefront of migrant influx as a gateway to Europe. Balancing a humanitarian policy and the need to stop thousands from risking their lives, Türkiye heightened measures against irregular migration.

According to official figures, Türkiye hosts the world’s largest refugee population of around 4 million.

Türkiye has made large investments in social cohesion policies to enable Syrians to smoothly integrate into Turkish society.