US immigration authorities have raided a massive Hyundai factory in Georgia, leading to the arrest of over 450 people, according to one of the agencies involved in the operation.
The 3,000-acre site, which was built by the Korean automobile manufacturer to make electric vehicles, had been operational for a year.
The Department of Homeland Security told the BBC that agents executed a search warrant due to allegations of “unlawful employment practices and other serious federal crimes”.
Korean nationals were among those detained, the South Korean foreign ministry said, calling it an “unjust infringement” of their rights.
Hyundai Motor Company said it was aware of the incident at the HL-GA Battery Company construction site and was “working to understand the specific circumstances”.
“As of today, it is our understanding that none of those detained is directly employed by Hyundai Motor Company,” it said in statement. “We prioritize the safety and well-being of everyone working at the site.”
In a post on X, the Atlanta office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it joined a number of other agencies including ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to arrest 450 “unlawful aliens” at the plant in Bryan County.
It is unclear how many South Koreans were detained but some reports suggest it was in the hundreds.
“The economic activities of Korean investment companies and the rights and interests of Korean citizens must not be unfairly infringed upon during US law enforcement operations,” the foreign ministry statement said.
The ministry added that it was dispatching diplomats to the site.
“In Seoul, we also conveyed our concerns and regrets today through the US Embassy in Korea and urged them to exercise extreme caution to ensure that the legitimate rights and interests of Korean citizens are not infringed upon.”
At a press conference on Friday, an official with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “there was a majority of Korean nationals from the 475” people detained.
“They are in the custody of ICE enforcement and removal operations,” Special Agent Steve Schrank said, adding that they were taken to a processing facility in Folkston, Georgia.
“They will be moved based on the individual circumstances beyond that,” the official said. “This in fact was the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of homeland security investigations.”
ICE officials said the operation was the result of a “multi-month criminal investigation, where we have developed evidence, conducted interviews, gathered documents, and presented that evidence to the court in order to obtain an official search warrant.”
Videos on social media show agents lining workers up, telling them they have a warrant to search the facility. The agents can also be seen talking to some of the workers in the videos.
South Korean companies have promised to invest billions of dollars in key US industries in the coming years, partly as a way to avoid tariffs.
The state’s governor, Republican Brian Kemp, had touted Hyundai’s new electric vehicle operation as the biggest economic development project in the state’s history, employing 1,200 people.
The search by federal agencies had also shut down construction on an adjacent battery plant, CBS News reports.
President Trump campaigned for his second term in office on the back of a pledge to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants although he said the priority would be those who committed crimes.
