Korean companies caught in ICE rampage: ICE arrests 300 Korean corporate staff dispatched for the establishment of Hyundai-LG factory in Georgia

6 comments

1. Translation below.

   South Korea’s formal diplomatic protest and the deployment of consular staff indicates Seoul views this as a serious bilateral issue, not just a domestic law enforcement matter. Given Korea’s role as a key Indo-Pacific ally and major investor in US clean energy infrastructure, this incident could set a problematic precedent for how immigration enforcement intersects with strategic economic partnerships.

   How do you see this balancing act between border security and maintaining crucial alliance relationships playing out? Are we witnessing a fundamental shift in how the US approaches immigration enforcement at foreign-invested facilities?

   >U.S. immigration authorities and the Department of Homeland Security’s investigative unit carried out a large-scale “illegal immigration crackdown” at the construction site of Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution’s joint battery plant in Georgia, arresting more than 450 people. It is reported that most of those arrested were Korean employees, with over 300 taken into custody for holding visas inconsistent with their stated purpose of stay. With the Trump administration intensifying demands for foreign investment in the U.S., the “mass arrest operation” has thrown Korean companies into confusion.

   >According to Hyundai Motor, LG, and local media reports on the 4th (local time), agents from multiple agencies—including the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Georgia State Patrol—raided the site of Hyundai Motor Group’s Metaplant America in Georgia.

   >The authorities took control of the battery plant site, which Hyundai and LG Energy Solution are racing to complete by the end of the year, and conducted immigration status checks on all workers present. In this process, not only undocumented immigrants but also Korean employees holding Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) approvals or business visas (B1) intended for meetings or contracts were arrested in large numbers. The detainees included employees dispatched from Hyundai Motor, LG Energy Solution, Hyundai Engineering (responsible for construction), and partner companies. The ATF’s Atlanta division announced on social media that “about 450 undocumented individuals have been arrested.”

   >In response to the mass arrests of corporate staff dispatched for the establishment of the local plant, the South Korean government expressed concern and regret. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated:

   >“During the course of U.S. law enforcement, the economic activities of our investing companies and the rights and interests of our citizens must not be unfairly infringed upon. We conveyed our concern and regret through the U.S. Embassy in Seoul and requested that special care be taken to ensure our citizens’ legitimate rights and interests are not violated.”

   >The government dispatched embassy and consular officials to the site and launched an on-site task force centered around local diplomatic missions. President Lee Jae-myung was reportedly briefed on the matter, expressed particular concern, and instructed the relevant ministries to respond actively.

2. It’s time for the Rooftop Koreans to return.

3. This is insanity. Not even die hard MAGAs voted for this kind of BS.

4. Didn’t they have work visas for their staff?

5. Could this be public cover for the inevitable shit show about to go down in Chicago?
   Because otherwise i can make no sense of this.

6. What is the probability that this is a case of malicious compliance on the part of some middle level bureaucrats in ICE? Someone within ICE that’s tired of dealing with this garbage?

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