The South Korean government has finalized an agreement with the United States to secure the release of hundreds of migrant workers who were detained during an immigration raid at a Hyundai automobile factory under construction in Georgia.
According to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), 475 individuals were arrested in the operation, the majority of them from South Korea. Authorities reported that the workers were in the United States illegally, and many had either crossed the border unlawfully, overstayed visas, or entered through the visa waiver program, which does not allow employment.
Details of the Operation
The raid targeted a Hyundai-owned battery plant that is still under construction. While Hyundai owns the facility, the company stated that none of the individuals detained were directly employed by them. Instead, the arrested workers were reportedly employed through subcontractors involved in the site’s construction. The incident led to work at the plant being temporarily paused.
Fox News Digital reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and several other law enforcement agencies assisted in carrying out the large-scale operation. Steven Schrank, the chief of HSI Georgia, noted that those detained were found to have violated U.S. immigration rules in different ways, ranging from illegal border entry to expired or restricted visas.
