ICE Raid on Hyundai–LG Factory in Georgia

Source:https://chatgpt.com/share/68bcab1c-aae8-8013-a862-da25f650bb8f

Thanks. I’ll look into the current situation involving the Hyundai and LG Korean national factory workers recently detained by ICE. I’ll investigate the visa status claims, the scope and legality of the warrants used, and whether the mass arrests were justified under U.S. immigration law.I’ll let you know what I find.

ICE Raid on Hyundai–LG Factory in Georgia – Key Findings

In early September 2025, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) led a large-scale immigration raid at the Hyundai Motor Group–LG Energy Solution electric vehicle (EV) battery plant construction site in Ellabell, Georgia. Approximately 475 workers – the majority South Korean nationals – were detained, halting construction on the high-profile projectwww.reuters.comwww.reuters.com. Below is a structured summary of the incident, covering the official rationale, legal status of the workers, warrant scope, responses from South Korea and advocacy groups, conflicting accounts, and the detention conditions.

Official Reason Given by ICE for the Detentions

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials justified the mass detentions as part of a months-long investigation into unlawful hiring and employment of unauthorized workers at the sitegeorgiarecorder.com. HSI Special Agent in Charge Steven Schrank stated that many of the workers “were barred from working in the U.S.” due to immigration violations – some had entered the country illegally, while others had overstayed valid visaswww.reuters.com. The Department of Justice characterized the operation as an effort to crack down on illegal labor practices and prevent employers from exploiting undocumented workers for competitive advantagewww.wtoc.com. Officials emphasized that this was not a random sweep; rather, it stemmed from a criminal probe into hiring practices at the EV battery plant and its network of subcontractorsgeorgiarecorder.comwww.wtoc.com.

According to U.S. authorities, none of the roughly 475 detained workers were authorized to work in the United States. HSI’s investigation found that while **some detainees had crossed the border without permission, others initially entered legally but lacked proper work authorization – for example, by overstaying their visas or arriving under the Visa Waiver Program, which permits short business/tourist visits but no employmentapnews.comgeorgiarecorder.com.However, accounts from the Korean side and legal representatives conflict with ICE’s portrayal. An American immigration attorney representing two detained workers noted his clients came from South Korea under the Visa Waiver Program legitimately, intending only a brief business visit (one had been in the U.S. a couple of weeks, the other about 45 days) and “had been planning to return home soon”apnews.com. South Korean officials likewise asserted that many of the Koreans were in Georgia on valid short-term assignments – reportedly business trips with visas allowing them to train U.S. employees – rather than intending to work illegally in constructiongeorgiarecorder.com. These statements suggest that at least some of the detained engineers or technicians believed they were compliant with U.S. immigration rules (e.g. performing limited training or oversight), even as ICE deemed their activities unauthorized labor.

Warrants and Scope of the Raid

Federal agents executed a judicial search warrant covering the entire Hyundai–LG battery plant site, which authorized both the arrest of certain individuals and the seizure of employment records. In a widely shared video of the raid, an HSI agent announced to gathered workers: “We have a search warrant for the whole site. We need all work to end on the site right now.”www.reuters.com. According to details later released, the warrant was part of a criminal investigation into “unlawful employment practices and serious federal crimes,” and it specifically targeted evidence of illegal hiring at the HL-GA Battery Company LLC (the Hyundai–LG joint venture) and five subcontractor firmsgeorgiarecorder.comwww.wtoc.com.Notably, the warrant application identified four individuals (with Hispanic names) as subjects of interest – these were presumably workers or managers suspected of immigration violations who helped establish probable causegeorgiarecorder.com. Armed with the broad site-wide warrant, over 400 federal agents swarmed the facility (“Operation Low Voltage”), ultimately detaining 475 people far beyond the initial four targetsgeorgiarecorder.comwww.wtoc.com. In addition to arresting workers on-site, agents collected employment documents, timecards, and other records in an effort to trace how “hundreds of illegal aliens” came to be employed thereapnews.comapnews.com. This indicates the operation’s scope went well beyond a few individuals – it was a comprehensive sweep and evidence-gathering raid affecting the entire project and its contractors.

Response from South Korean Government and Korean American Organizations

The South Korean government reacted with alarm and diplomatic protest to the mass detention of its nationals. Seoul’s Foreign Ministry quickly expressed “concern and regret” over the raid, emphasizing that “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.”www.reuters.com President Lee Jae-myung convened an emergency meeting and pledged “all-out efforts” to protect Korean nationals; Foreign Minister Cho Hyun noted a government response team was formed to assist the over 300 South Koreans arrestedwww.reuters.comwww.washingtonpost.com. Seoul dispatched consular officials to Georgia – including the consul general from its U.S. Embassy – to provide support on the groundwww.thestar.com.mywww.thestar.com.my. The Korean consulate in Atlanta is coordinating legal assistance and communicating with U.S. authorities to ensure due process for the detaineeswww.thestar.com.my. South Korean leaders also hinted at diplomatic follow-ups: Cho Hyun said he may travel to Washington D.C. to meet U.S. officials if necessarywww.reuters.com. Given that the raid comes amid sensitive U.S.–Korea trade negotiations, officials in Seoul have been careful to stress the importance of fair treatment for their citizens while managing the broader bilateral relationshipwww.washingtonpost.comwww.washingtonpost.com.Korean American and immigrant advocacy organizations in the U.S. likewise responded swiftly, condemning the raid and offering support to affected families. Asian Americans Advancing Justice–Atlanta (a legal advocacy nonprofit) issued a joint statement denouncing the enforcement action as “unacceptable,” noting that “the workers targeted at Hyundai are everyday people who are trying to feed their families, build stronger communities, and work toward a better future.”apnews.com Community advocates highlighted that many detainees were in the U.S. only temporarily, so their spouses and children are back in South Korea – families are struggling to locate and contact loved ones swept up in the raidapnews.com. The advocacy group has been working to connect detainees with legal counsel and facilitating communication for relatives overseas. In Georgia, local immigrant rights groups (such as Migrant Equity Southeast) and some state politicians also criticized the raid’s scale, arguing it terrorized law-abiding workers and hurt the state’s business reputationwww.reuters.comapnews.com. On the other hand, some officials like Georgia’s governor defended the operation, stating that all companies must follow the law, and a few local residents expressed concern that the plant had employed so many foreign workers in the first placegeorgiarecorder.comapnews.com. Overall, the incident has sparked a public outcry among Korean communities and civil rights advocates, and it is testing U.S.–South Korea relations on both the diplomatic and grassroots level.

Discrepancies Between ICE’s Statements and Detainees’ Accounts

There are notable discrepancies between ICE’s narrative and the accounts provided by detained Korean nationals (and their lawyers):

  • Work Authorization vs. Business Visits: ICE maintains that all those detained were working without authorization, either by entering illegally, overstaying visas, or violating the terms of entry (such as working while on a tourist/business waiver)apnews.com. In contrast, some detainees insist they were not unauthorized “workers” in the usual sense. For example, Korean engineers on-site claim they were on short-term business travel – performing training, oversight or consulting roles – and held proper visas or visa-waiver status for those activities. Attorney Charles Kuck, who represents two South Koreans, said his clients lawfully entered under the visa waiver program for temporary business and believed they were complying with U.S. immigration rules, planning to depart within the allowed 90-day periodapnews.com. South Korean officials, after speaking with companies, likewise reported that many of the detained Koreans had documentation allowing them to be in the U.S. for training or supervisory purposes, and were surprised to be treated as violatorsgeorgiarecorder.com. This conflicts with ICE’s assertion that simply being on a visa waiver (or business visa) was insufficient if the individuals were effectively doing work on the factory construction.
  • Targeting “Illegal Aliens” vs. Caught-up Professionals: U.S. authorities have described the operation as focused on “hundreds of illegal aliens” hired in construction rolesapnews.com. President Trump commented that “a lot of illegal aliens [were] working there – some not the best of people”georgiarecorder.com. Yet, the demographics of those detained include many skilled Korean professionals (engineers, technical staff from LG Energy Solution and its contractors) who do not fit the typical profile of undocumented laborers. LG’s own statement confirmed 47 of its employees (46 South Koreans and 1 Indonesian) on business assignment were swept up, along with about 250 workers from various subcontractorswww.washingtonpost.comwww.reuters.com. The Korean government and Hyundai/LG have been careful to note that none of the detainees were direct hires of Hyundai, implying they were mostly contractor or subcontractor staff – some of whom may have been miscategorized or misled about their work authorizationwww.reuters.comwww.thestar.com.my. This raises questions: Did all the Koreans knowingly violate immigration laws, or were some operating under a good-faith assumption of legality? The discrepancy between ICE’s blanket characterization and the detainees’ claims (supported by Korean authorities) suggests a potential misunderstanding or miscommunication about what kinds of activities are permissible under certain visas or visa waivers.
  • Warrants for Four vs. Arrests of 475: ICE officials insist the raid was a lawful, targeted operation based on solid evidence, not a random roundupgeorgiarecorder.com. They had a warrant naming specific suspects and authorizing a site searchwww.wtoc.com. However, Korean media and lawyers have pointed out that only four individuals were explicitly identified in the warrant, whereas hundreds of others – many with legal visitor status – ended up in detentiongeorgiarecorder.comwww.wtoc.com. This fuels a perception on the Korean side that the scope of enforcement far exceeded the immediate warrant targets. Some Korean observers argue ICE used the pretext of a narrow warrant to conduct a dragnet, an assertion U.S. officials would likely dispute. The truth may lie in the middle: agents had the right to question anyone on-site about immigration status once lawfully present with a warrant, but whether it was necessary to detain nearly everyone lacking work papers (versus issuing notices or smaller arrests) is a subject of debate and has been raised by legal advocates. In sum, ICE portrays the incident as a crackdown on clear-cut immigration lawbreakers, whereas the Korean side suggests many detainees were law-abiding visitors caught off-guard by an overly aggressive enforcement. These conflicting narratives could become central points in any legal challenges or diplomatic discussions arising from the raid.

Detention Location and Conditions

After the raid, the arrested workers were transported to an ICE detention facility in Folkston, Georgia, near the Florida state linewww.reuters.comgeorgiarecorder.com. This ICE center in Charlton County is a secure holding site where immigration detainees are kept pending further proceedings. As of the latest updates, none of the 475 individuals have been criminally charged with federal crimes; they are being held on immigration violations (e.g. for deportation processing or as material witnesses) while the investigation continuesapnews.com.Conditions of detention and treatment of the workers have become a concern for families and advocates. Communication has been difficult – many of the detained Koreans have spouses or relatives back in South Korea, and family members have struggled to even locate their loved ones or get in touch by phone due to the sudden nature of the raidapnews.com. Asian Americans Advancing Justice reported that as of Saturday (immediately after the raid) friends and family were having a hard time determining which facility people were taken to and how to contact them, creating anxiety and confusionapnews.com. Consular officials from the Korean Embassy have been visiting the detention center to check on the welfare of Korean nationals and facilitate communicationwww.thestar.com.my._A view of the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant construction site in Ellabell, Georgia (seen here in March 2025). This EV factory project – a joint venture with LG Energy Solution – became the scene of the largest worksite immigration raid in U.S. DHS history, with 475 workers detained in September 2025www.reuters.comwww.reuters.com._Eyewitness footage of the raid itself raised human rights questions about the degree of force used. Video released by ICE shows detainees shackled at the wrists, waist, and ankles being led to buses under armed guardwww.reuters.com. The operation involved a heavy law enforcement presence – including over 400 agents, helicopters, drones, and even armored vehicles on standbywww.reuters.com. Some workers panicked and attempted to hide: the U.S. Department of Justice noted a few individuals tried to flee and had to be “fished out” of a sewage pond on the construction site before being arrestedwww.reuters.comwww.reuters.com. The image of hundreds of Asian workers in chains has caused outrage in South Korea and among immigrant rights groups, who argue that non-violent immigration violators should not be treated like dangerous criminals. U.S. officials, for their part, defend these measures as standard safety protocol for a mass arrest operation, emphasizing that all detainees are being provided food, shelter, and access to legal counsel while in custody.Folkston Detention Center’s conditions have not been detailed in reports specific to this case, but it is known as a large immigration holding facility. Detainees there typically sleep in dormitory units and have routine schedules; however, advocacy groups have previously raised general concerns about medical care and due process in ICE detention centers nationwide. In this instance, the Korean consulate is actively monitoring conditions, and no specific allegations of mistreatment beyond the initial shackling have surfaced publicly. The key issue has been ensuring legal access and timely processing: South Korean diplomats are pushing for expedited verification of visas and statuses, while U.S. officials indicate each detainee’s case will be individually evaluated in accordance with immigration lawwww.thestar.com.mywww.reuters.com.

Sources: