WASHINGTON, Sept 6: Nearly 500 workers have been detained in what US officials described as the largest single-site immigration enforcement action under President Donald Trump’s second term, the BBC reported. The raid took place at Hyundai’s electric vehicle factory in Georgia, a sprawling 3,000-acre site that opened just a year ago.
According to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), around 475 people accused of being in the country illegally or working without authorization were arrested. About 300 of them are South Korean nationals, the BBC stated. They are currently being held at a detention facility in Folkston, Georgia, while officials decide on further action.
South Korea’s foreign ministry expressed “concern and regret,” saying the economic activities of Korean companies and the rights of Korean citizens should not be infringed during US law enforcement operations. Seoul confirmed it is dispatching diplomats to the plant and has raised the issue with the US embassy in South Korea, according to the BBC.
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The Department of Homeland Security told the BBC that agents executed a search warrant after a months-long probe into alleged unlawful employment practices. Steve Schrank, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Atlanta, stressed that the operation was not a random roundup but followed evidence gathering, interviews, and judicial approval. He called it “the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of homeland security investigations.”
President Trump defended the raid, telling reporters at the White House that ICE was “just doing its job.” He claimed those detained were “illegal aliens” and linked their presence to policies under President Joe Biden. Trump also acknowledged Seoul’s concerns but reiterated his campaign promise to secure American jobs by curbing unauthorized employment.
Hyundai said in a statement, cited by the BBC, that none of those arrested were directly employed by the company. The firm said it was monitoring the situation closely. Reuters reported that while vehicle production continued, LG Energy Solutions, Hyundai’s partner in a battery joint venture, temporarily paused construction work at the site.
Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp had earlier promoted the Hyundai project as the state’s largest-ever economic investment, employing 1,200 people. The factory is a key part of Trump’s push to attract foreign manufacturers to the US. Yet the BBC noted the raid underscores a tension between Trump’s pledge to expand domestic manufacturing and his strict immigration agenda.
Social media footage shared with the BBC showed federal agents lining up workers and announcing they had a warrant to search the facility.
The episode adds new strain to Washington’s ties with Seoul, a close ally that has pledged billions of dollars in investment across US industries.
