TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The labor ministry on Wednesday (Oct. 18) said there are 84,000 migrant workers unaccounted for in Taiwan.

Workforce development head Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) said the figure is accurate as of August this year, per CNA. Tsai said penalties for illegal workers and illegal marriage service advertisements will be tripled as a result.

Deputy Interior Minister Wu Jung-hui (吳容輝) said that at the end of 2019, the number of unaccounted-for migrant workers was around 48,000. Wu said that restrictions on migrant workers’ entry to Taiwan during the pandemic have resulted in excess demand for workers, causing the number to rise sharply.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Saidhai Tahovecahe (伍麗華) said that employers in rural areas often do not understand how to legally hire migrant workers, so rely on illegal agencies to provide labor. Tahovecahe said the issue is with the market itself and should be dealt with at the source, by targeting agencies facilitating illegal hiring.

Tahovecahe said that although migrant workers commit crimes at a far lower rate than Taiwanese people, while undocumented they become targets for organized crime groups, per the China Times. She referenced media reports about scams in Taiwan similar to those that have targeted Taiwanese people in Cambodia and said more needs to be done to target these groups and illegal intermediaries.