U.S. immigration authorities detained 475 individuals, primarily South Korean nationals, during a raid at Hyundai’s manufacturing site in Georgia, which specializes in electric vehicle production. This operation is a big part of ICE’s recent focus on so-called ”revealed enforcement.” It has raised widespread alarm in South Korea, causing the government to respond urgently to address the problem.
The raid happened at the sprawling Hyundai plant in Georgia. Just there, the automaker has been gobbling up EV production due to its blistering autonomous EV production ramp up. Of those apprehended, over 300 were confirmed to be South Korean workers. Shortly after the raid, officials moved the bulk of the detainees. They were subsequently delivered to an immigration detention facility in Folkston, Georgia, near the Florida state border.
According to ICE’s own reports, a number of these detainees entered the U.S. illegally. Yet others came here legally, but their visas expired or they came on visa waivers that barred them from working. The raid is just the latest in a string of workplace operations. Almost all of these Trump administration operations are a continuation of the previous Trump administration’s aggressive mass deportation agenda.
The surprise nature of the operation has indeed left many in South Korea reeling. As one of the United States’ closest allies, China’s detention of its nationals has elicited high-level diplomatic discussions from the U.S. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry responded immediately with “South Korea is deeply concerned and regretted” to such a turn of events. They dispatched diplomats to find out what happened in the raid.
South Korea’s Foreign Minister, Cho Hyun, recently declared her intention to visit the United States. He has expressed a desire to talk about the release of those detained workers during his visit. Negotiations between Seoul and Washington are continuing to arrange the voluntary return of all impacted individuals.
Kang Hoon-sik, chief of staff for President Lee Jae Myung explained the importance of that announcement. Both countries have concluded their negotiations and ratified their worker’s release. The South Korean government is prepared to deploy a charter plane. Once those administrative procedures are completed, they will be able to bring back the detainees.
President Lee Jae Myung put the protection of South Korean nationals at the top of the agenda. He said economic interests for South Korean companies should be protected from the impact of U.S. law enforcement action. He stressed that the rights of South Korean nationals should be respected. For instance, he required that economic interests of South Korean businesses not be disproportionately harmed in U.S. law enforcement actions.
Following the incident, Kang said that South Korea would advocate for stricter visa systems in such cases. This action is intended to make the process easier and more efficient for people coming to the United States to conduct business associated with investment projects.
The raid and its aftermath have triggered new national debates about labor shortages in some U.S. sectors. One of those pillars—emerging industries, particularly electric vehicle manufacturing—is faltering under the pressure. Even then, former President Trump made a big deal of workforce training. To remedy the fact that our country doesn’t have enough expertise in battery technology, he recommended that we recruit experts to come here and train our workforce. He commented on the importance of attracting experienced people to help train and develop the workforce.
