Nearly 500 workers were arrested late Thursday at a new Hyundai-LG battery facility in Georgia in an immigration raid.
The raid was part of an ongoing criminal investigation into allegations of unlawful employment practices and other federal crimes, an official for the Department of Homeland Security told Business Insider.
“This, in fact, was the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of Homeland Security investigations,” said Steven Schrank, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations for Georgia, during a press conference Friday.
A total of 475 workers were arrested, a majority of whom were Korean nationals, the official said. The arrests included many subcontractors and no formal charges had been filed at the time of the press conference, the official added.
Hyundai, based in Seoul, is one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturers by revenue. The Georgia battery factory that was raided is still under construction and due to open in the first half of next year. It is part of a larger, $7.6 billion operation that includes a production plant for Hyundai’s electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, as well as autos for its Genesis luxury brand and sister company Kia.
“We are aware of the recent incident at the HL-GA Battery Company construction site in Bryan County, Georgia. We are closely monitoring the situation and working to understand the specific circumstances,” Hyundai spokesperson Michael Stewart told Business Insider in a statement.
“As of today, it is our understanding that none of those detained is directly employed by Hyundai Motor Company,” he added.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and gathering all relevant details,” an LG spokesperson said. “Our top priority is always ensuring the safety and well-being of our employees and partners. We will fully cooperate with the relevant authorities.”
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South Korea’s foreign ministry expressed “concern and regret” over the matter, reported the Yonhap news agency, a major news outlet also in Seoul.
“The economic activities of our companies investing in the U.S. and the rights and interests of our nationals must not be unfairly violated,” ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong said, according to the report.
Since the start of Donald Trump’s second presidency in January, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have made arrests at a range of worksites across the country, including a meat-processing plant in Omaha, Nebraska, a fire-equipment company in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, and a Louisiana racetrack. Day laborers outside of Home Depot locations have also been targeted. Trump administration officials have reportedly pushed for a goal of making a minimum of 3,000 immigration-related arrests per day.
The Hyundai raid comes after President Trump signed a bill into law in July that provides ICE with additional funding and resources to assist in the arrests of immigrants living in the US illegally, including enough detention capacity to maintain an average daily population of 100,000 individuals.
The raid comes more than a month after Trump announced a new trade agreement between the US and South Korea. The deal imposes a 15% tariff on most US imports from South Korea, including automobiles, in exchange for duty-free treatment on many American products.
