[ATLANTA/WASHINGTON/SEOUL] Hundreds of workers at a Hyundai Motor car battery facility under construction in Georgia were detained in a raid by US authorities on Thursday (Sep 4), stopping work on a plant that is one of the Korean automaker’s major investments in the US.
About 475 workers, most of whom were South Korean nationals, were arrested, according to US immigration officials, the largest single-site enforcement operation in the US Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) history.
US 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 US The countries have been at odds over the details of a trade deal that includes US$350 billion of investments. At a summit last month, South Korea pledged US$150 billion in US investments – including US$26 billion from Hyundai Motor.
Homeland Security officials said that the workers arrested at the Ellabell, Georgia, site were barred from working in the US 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.
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A Hyundai Motor spokesperson said that none of the people detained were employed directly by the automaker.
The company said that 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 that 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 per cent on Friday, and LGES shares dropped 2.3 per cent.
‘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 that 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 authorisations”.
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 US law enforcement,” ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong said on Friday.
A 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 US Department of Justice (DOJ), in a statement, said that 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 terrorise 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 spokesperson for Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said: “In Georgia, we will always enforce the law, including all state and federal immigration laws.”
Hyundai said that its production of electric vehicles (EVs) at the sprawling site was not affected.
In 2023, Hyundai Motor and LG Energy announced the US$4.3 billion venture to produce EV battery cells, with each company holding a 50 per cent stake. The plant will supply batteries for Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EV models.
The battery factory is part of Hyundai’s US$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”. REUTERS
