In a large-scale immigration enforcement raid at a huge Hyundai facility in Georgia on Thursday, 475 immigrants suspected of living and working in the U.S. illegally were detained, federal authorities announced.
Steven Schrank, the special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama, told reporters Friday that the majority of those detained were Korean nationals, but he didn't know exactly how many. They worked for a variety of different companies at the site, including subcontractors, he said.
No criminal charges were announced during Friday's news conference. The sweep was conducted as part of a monthslong investigation into allegations of unlawful employment practices and other federal crimes, Schrank said. He described Thursday's raid as the largest enforcement operation at a single site in the history of Homeland Security Investigations, which is a unit of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"This operation underscores our commitment to protecting jobs for Georgians and Americans, ensuring a level playing field for businesses that comply with the law, safeguarding the integrity of our economy and protecting workers from exploitation," Schrank said.
Some of those detained Thursday allegedly entered the U.S. illegally, and others were accused of overstaying their visas or violating visa waivers by working, Schrank said. Most of the detainees were taken to an ICE facility in Folkston, Georgia, near the Florida-Georgia state line.
"They will be moved based on their individual circumstances beyond that," Schrank said.
ICE said in a statement Friday night that those arrested during the operation were "found to be working illegally, in violation of the terms of their visas and/or statuses." One green card holder from Mexico was arrested after "being determined to be removable from the U.S. based on multiple criminal convictions," ICE said.
The investigation is ongoing, and additional arrests and charges are possible, ICE said.
In ICE's statement Friday night, Schrank said the operation "sends a clear message that those who exploit the system and undermine our workforce will be held accountable."
"We welcome all companies who want to invest in the U.S., and if they need to bring workers in for building or other projects, that's fine — but they need to do it the legal way," Schrank said.
The president of Georgia's chapter of the AFL-CIO called the raid politically motivated and said ICE has been escalating its presence at workplaces across the state.
"This raid is the latest in an ongoing campaign of harassment that has targeted immigrant Georgians as they try to earn an honest living," Yvonne Brooks said in a statement. "Arresting and detaining workers, who are exploited every day and risk their lives every day on the job, creates an atmosphere of fear that terrorizes workers and their families and increases the workload burden on their coworkers."
The operation involved law enforcement agents from multiple federal agencies, including ICE, Border Patrol, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the IRS and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, underscoring the government-wide nature of the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration.
Earlier, the Atlanta office of the ATF had said 450 people were detained in a post on social media, which included pictures from the operation.
The sweep targeted one of Georgia's largest and most high-profile manufacturing sites, touted by Gov. Brian Kemp and other officials as the biggest economic development project in the state's history. Hyundai Motor Group, South Korea's biggest automaker, began manufacturing electric vehicles a year ago at the $7.6 billion plant, which employs about 1,200 people, and has partnered with LG Energy Solution to build an adjacent battery plant, slated to open next year. The search shut down construction on the battery plant.
The Hyundai Motor Company said in a statement that it was aware of the operation and was "closely monitoring the situation while working to understand the specific circumstances."
"Based on our current understanding, none of those detained is directly employed by Hyundai Motor Company," it said. "Hyundai is committed to full compliance with all laws and regulations in every market where we operate. This includes employment verification requirements and immigration laws. We expect the same commitment from all our partners, suppliers, contractors, and subcontractors."
"We are reviewing our processes to ensure that all parties working on our projects maintain the same high standards of legal compliance that we demand of ourselves. This includes thorough vetting of employment practices by contractors and subcontractors," the company said, in part, adding that it will "conduct an investigation to ensure all suppliers and their subcontractors comply with all laws and regulations."
In a statement to The Associated Press, LG said it was "closely monitoring the situation and gathering all relevant details." It said it couldn't immediately confirm how many of its employees or Hyundai workers had been detained.
"Our top priority is always ensuring the safety and well-being of our employees and partners. We will fully cooperate with the relevant authorities," the company said.
ICE spokesman Lindsay Williams confirmed that federal authorities conducted an enforcement operation at the 3,000-acre site west of Savannah. He said agents were focused on the construction site for the battery plant.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was dispatching officials to the site and urged the U.S. Embassy in Seoul "to exercise extreme caution to ensure that the legitimate rights and interests of Korean citizens are not infringed upon."
"The economic activities of Korean investment companies and the rights and interests of Korean citizens must not be unfairly infringed upon during U.S. law enforcement operations," the Foreign Ministry said.
Georgia State Patrol troopers blocked roads to the Hyundai site. The Georgia Department of Public Safety confirmed it was dispatched to assist federal authorities.
Video posted to social media on Thursday showed workers in yellow safety vests lined up as a man wearing a face mask and a tactical vest with the letters HSI, which stands for Homeland Security Investigations, tells them: "We're Homeland Security. We have a search warrant for the whole site."
"We need construction to cease immediately," the man says in the video. "We need all work to end on the site right now."
The Trump administration has undertaken sweeping ICE operations as part of a mass deportation agenda. Immigration officers have raided farms, construction sites, restaurants and auto repair shops.
The Pew Research Center, citing preliminary Census Bureau data, says the U.S. labor force lost more than 1.2 million immigrants from January through July. That includes people who are in the country illegally as well as legal residents.
Hyundai and LG's battery joint venture, HL-GA Battery Company, said in a statement that it's "cooperating fully with the appropriate authorities" and paused construction of the battery site to assist their work.
Operations at Hyundai's EV manufacturing plant weren't interrupted, said plant spokesperson Bianca Johnson.
"This did not impact people getting to work," Johnson said in an email. "Production and normal office hours had already begun for the day" when authorities shut down access.
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