U.S. ally concerned after ICE raid sees 'many' of its nationals detained at Hyundai facility in Georgia

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

South Korea said Friday that it had expressed “concern and regret” to the U.S. Embassy over an immigration raid on a Hyundai facility in Georgia during which it said “many” South Korean nationals had been detained.

“The economic activities of our companies investing in the U.S. and the rights and interests of our nationals must not be unfairly violated,” said Lee Jae-woong, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry of the key U.S. ally, according to the Yonhap news agency.

Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as well as Homeland Security Investigations and other federal agencies were involved in the operation on Thursday, which an ICE spokesperson said was conducted in connection with an investigation into “unlawful employment practices and other serious federal crimes.”

Steven Schrank, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia, told reporters on Thursday afternoon that the alleged unlawful practices were taking place at the “multi-hundred acre” construction site where South Korean companies Hyundai and LG Energy Solution are jointly building a new battery plant next to their manufacturing facility for electric vehicles.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/ice-homeland-security-conduct-workplace-193346361.html

[Deep State Witch]

1. So, They Weren't Latin Americans?

I'm guessing that the supervisors with South Korean, but the guys working on building the plant were not. The South Koreans should be here legally.

[FBaggins]

2. How?

A South Korean company opens a factory in the US and hires South Korean nationals who aren't in the US legally to work there?

I know it's the administration doing the raid - so there's obviously a potential concern. But I'm not sure that I have a problem with this. If an Italian company in the US was hiring lots of Italians, there would already be a potential discriminatory concern... but Italians who aren't even in the country legally?

On Edit - BumRushDaShow's thread says 475 people (!)

[leftstreet]

3. "unlawful employment practices" - not employee

So did they arrest the executives, or what?

[patphil]

4. Hyundai isn't going to bring undocumented South Koreans in to work in their plant.

I'm 100% certain that any Koreans working in that plant had valid work visas. But, Hyundai needs a certain number of skilled, experienced workers to do management and supervisory jobs, and jobs that require skill and experience.
American workers would need training and time on the job to work at the level Hyundai requires of its workers to meet quality control/assurance goals.

The detaining of South Koreans is simply an harassment tactic; possibly a pre-shakedown ploy.

[MichMan]

9. I believe it is still under construction and not operational yet

[Jilly_in_VA]

5. Probably some supervisors

I suspect this is much like the transmission plant my late ex worked at for many years. When he started, many of the junior supervisors were German. After awhile most of them either went back to Germany or rose higher in the company or both. When the plant expanded to Mexico, late ex was first tasked with teaching a group of Mexican electricians who came up here and then was sent to Mexico as a supervisor for 6 months. Had he been a Spanish speaker he probably would have stayed longer, but at that point the company decided they needed him more in Tennessee anyway.

ICE had no business doing that. None.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

6. Same with Toyota when it first opened plants in US. Managers were from Japan

[Blue Full Moon]

7. Retaliation for MTG

ICE doesn't care if here legally or not.
They want manufacturing companies to move here and then do this.
Maybe the dummy will come to Ohio and try it at Honda and all the support companies. Japan will drop all it's US bonds. What a blooming idiot.

[Renew Deal]

8. I don't understand how there could be "hundreds" of people from a major corporation

here illegally. Something is wrong with this scenario. Were they all on tourist visas? Did they all overstay? It doesn't make sense.