BRYAN COUNTY, Ga. — Hundreds of South Korean illegal immigrants are set to return home after federal agents conducted one of the largest immigration raids in U.S. history at a Hyundai site in Georgia.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
The raid, authorized by a judicial warrant, resulted in the arrest of 475 workers, 300 of whom were South Korean citizens.
The operation took place at the sprawling Hyundai plant just outside of Savannah, Georgia.
The raid was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security, who entered the Hyundai LG plant and arrested the workers they identified as illegal immigrants.
Channel 2 Action News obtained the judicial warrant, signed by a federal judge, that authorized the raid.
Civil rights organizations criticized the raid and have called for accountability from Hyundai and other international corporations, which they claim skirt visa laws to bring in specialized workers.
“They must not shift the blame onto workers. They must not walk away from responsibility,” Sarah Park of the Korean-American Coalition told Channel 2’s Richard Elliot.
“That imbalance sends a clear message“ Julia Solorzano from Centro de los Derechos del Migrante said of employees being the ones who face consequences.
The South Korean government intervened to negotiate the release of the 300 South Korean citizens, who will soon be on a chartered flight home.
President Donald Trump supported the raid, stating that ICE was right to act because the workers were in the country illegally. But he also mentioned the need to find a way to bring in experts so that American workers can be trained.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
