ATLANTA/WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) — Hundreds of workers at a Hyundai Motor battery facility under construction in Georgia were detained in a raid by U.S. authorities on Thursday, stopping work on a plant that is one of the Korean automaker’s major investments in the U.S.
About 475 workers, most of whom were South Korean nationals, were arrested, according to U.S. immigration officials, the largest single-site enforcement operation in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s history.
President Donald Trump’s administration has been escalating a crackdown on immigrants, disrupting businesses around the country, even as the White House has encouraged more inflows from foreign investors.
The arrests could exacerbate tensions between Washington and Seoul, a key ally and investor in the U.S. The countries have been at odds over the details of a trade deal that includes $350 billion of investments. At a summit last month, South Korea pledged $150 billion in U.S. investments — including $26 billion from Hyundai Motor.
Homeland Security officials said the workers arrested at the Ellabell, Georgia, site were barred from working in the U.S. after crossing the border illegally or overstaying visas. The investigation took place over several months, Steven Schrank, special agent in charge of investigations for Georgia, said during a press briefing.
“This was not an immigration operation where agents went into the premises, rounded up folks and put them on buses,” he said. Schrank said there was a network of subcontractors on the site.
A Hyundai Motor spokesperson said none of the people detained were employed directly by the automaker.
The company said its chief manufacturing officer for North America, Chris Susock, would “assume governance of the entire megasite in Georgia.”
“We will conduct an investigation to ensure all suppliers and their subcontractors comply with all laws and regulations. Hyundai has zero tolerance for those who don’t follow the law,” it said.
The arrested workers were being held at ICE’s Folkston, Georgia, detention facility, Schrank said. Most of the 475 people are South Korean nationals, he said. Korean media has put the number of South Koreans detained at roughly 300 people.
The raid — dubbed “Operation Low Voltage” — included more than 400 law enforcement officers after a months-long investigation.
A spokesperson at Hyundai’s battery joint venture partner, South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solutions said in a statement it was cooperating and had paused construction work. The facility, a joint venture between LGES and Hyundai Motor, was due to start operations at the end of this year, according to LGES.
Hyundai Motor shares ended down 0.7% on Friday, and LGES shares dropped 2.3%.
‘Largest development project’
Under Trump, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, part of DHS, has driven the Republican leader’s sweeping crackdown on migrants, bolstered by record funding and new latitude to conduct raids.
Trump has said he wants to deport “the worst of the worst” criminals but ICE figures have shown a rise in non-criminals being picked up. Rights advocates have denounced such raids.
The White House said on Friday that “any foreign workers brought in for specific projects must enter the United States legally and with proper work authorizations.”
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry expressed regret and concern about the raid. “The economic activities of our companies investing in the United States and the interests of our citizens must not be unduly violated during the course of U.S. law enforcement,” ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong said in a statement on Friday.
Social media video showed a man wearing a vest with the letters HIS, an acronym for Homeland Security Investigations, telling workers in yellow safety vests: “We have a search warrant for the whole site. We need construction to cease immediately. We need all work to end on the site right now.”
The U.S. Department of Justice in a statement said several people tried to flee during the raid. Some had to be fished out of a sewage pond on the site, DOJ said.
Georgia’s Democratic Party condemned the raid, calling it part of “politically motivated fear tactics designed to terrorize people who work hard for a living, power our economy, and contribute to the communities across Georgia that they have made their homes.” In a statement, a spokesman for Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said: “In Georgia, we will always enforce the law, including all state and federal immigration laws.”
Hyundai said its production of electric vehicles at the sprawling site was not affected.
In 2023, Hyundai Motor and LG Energy announced the $4.3 billion venture to produce EV battery cells, with each company holding a 50% stake. The plant will supply batteries for Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EV models.
The battery factory is part of Hyundai’s $12.6 billion investments in the state, including the automaker’s just-opened car factory, in what would be “the largest economic development project in the state’s history.”
Regrettable
South Korea said the U.S. government’s release of images of the arrest of hundreds of Korean workers was regrettable, especially as the incident followed so closely after a summit between the two nations’ leaders.
On Friday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement released a video and photos of workers shackled at the wrists, waist and ankles getting on a bus after the raid.
First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo told U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker in a telephone call that it was regrettable the incident “occurred at a critical time, when the momentum of trust and cooperation between the two leaders, forged through their first summit, must be maintained,” the foreign ministry said in a statement late on Saturday.
Park also asked Hooker to ensure a fair and swift resolution to the matter.
The video and photos of the raid, which involved a helicopter and armored vehicles, showed hundreds of workers standing in front of a building, some wearing yellow vests with the names “Hyundai” or “LG CNS.” Two workers hid in a pond before they were arrested.
President Lee ordered a swift, all-out response to the arrests, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told an emergency meeting on Saturday. Cho said he may go to Washington to meet with officials if needed.
LG Energy Solution, which is working with Hyundai to build the factory, said it had asked employees to return from U.S. business trips while suspending travel to the United States except for customer meetings.
The company said on Sunday it had sent a human resources executive to Georgia to “ensure the swift and safe release of those detained.”
Hyundai Motor said it would investigate its suppliers and their subcontractors to ensure they meet regulations.
Trump, when asked about the raid, said on Friday: “I would say that they were illegal aliens and ICE was just doing its job.”
