450 detained in raid by ICE, other agencies at huge Hyundai site in Georgia, officials say

Savannah, Ga. – The American immigration authorities made a descent on Thursday the sprawling site where Hyundai manufactures electric vehicles in the south-east of Georgia, carrying out a search that closed the construction of an adjacent factory under construction to produce EV batteries.

In an article on X, the Atlanta office of the alcohol, tobacco, firearm and explosives office said that it “joined HSI, FBI, DEA, ICE, GSP and other agencies in a large immigration application to the battery factory of the Hyundai Mega site in the county of Bryan, GA, leading to the apprehension of 450 aliens Lisweful, emphasis on our commitment to the community. “

The operation has targeted one of the most important manufacturing sites and the highest level of Georgia, presented by the Governor and other civil servants as the largest economic development project in the history of the state. Hyundai Motor Group began to make electric vehicles a year ago in the $ 7.6 billion factory, which employs around 1,200 people.

The United States spokesperson for immigration and customs, Lindsay Williams confirmed that the federal authorities were carrying out an operation to apply the 3,000 acres site west of Savannah. He said that the agents were concentrated on the construction site of the battery plant.

The Ministry of Internal Security said in a statement that agents had executed a search warrant “as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into allegations of illegal employment practices and other serious federal crimes”.

The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that “the economic activities of Korean investment companies and the rights and interests of Korean citizens should not be unjustly violated during US laws on the law.

“We are actively responding to this incident by sending the Consul General of the United States Embassy to Seoul and the Consulate General in Atlanta on the site and by teaching the training of a response team focused on the local embassy.

“In Seoul, we have also expressed our concerns and regret today by the United States Embassy in Korea and have urged them to show extreme caution to ensure that the legitimate rights and interests of Korean citizens are not raped.”

The soldiers of the Georgia State Patrol blocked the roads to the Hyundai site. The Georgia Ministry of Public Security has confirmed that they had been sent to help the federal authorities.

The video published on social networks Thursday has shown that workers in yellow safety vests aligned like a man wearing a facial mask and a tactical vest with HSI letters, which represent surveys on internal security, said: “We are internal security. We have a research mandate for the whole site.”

“We need the construction to stop immediately,” said the man. “We need all the work to end on the site now.”

The Trump administration has undertaken scanning ice operations as part of a mass expulsion program. Immigration agents have descended on farms, construction sites, restaurants and automotive repair workshops.

The Pew Research Center, citing data from the preliminary census office, indicates that the American workforce has lost more than 1.2 million immigrants from January to July. This includes people who are illegally in the country as well as legal residents.

In addition to making electric vehicles on the site against Interstate 16 in Bryan County, Hyundai also joined forces with LG Energy Solution to build the battery plant. It should open its doors next year.

The joint venture, HL-GA Battery Company, “cooperates fully with the appropriate authorities,” the company said in a statement. “To help their work, we stopped construction.”

But LG Energy Solution Ltd. In South Korea refused to comment on the raid to CBS News.

Hyundai electric vehicle manufacturing plant operations have not been interrupted, said spokesperson for the Bianca Johnson factory.

“It had no impact on people who get to work,” said Johnson in an email. “Production and normal office hours had already started for the day” when the authorities closed access.