MOSCOW, March 21 (RIA Novosti) – Police detained 262 illegal migrants in northwest Moscow, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday.

All of them were detained during spot checks of dormitories on Wednesday as part of Operation Illegal Migrant.

Thirty-five illegals will be deported from Russia while others will face administrative penalties, the ministry said.

Migration is a contentious issue for Russia, with widespread disquiet in some sectors of society about the increasing numbers of foreign workers coming to Russia to live.

According to the 2012 International Migration Outlook, issued last year by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Russia is home to the world’s largest number of illegal migrants, accounting for almost seven percent of the country’s working population.