Massive immigration raid at Hyundai megaplant in Georgia leads to 475 arrests. The majority are Korean

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CNN US

Updated Sep 5, 2025, 12:55 PM ET
PUBLISHED Sep 5, 2025, 5:43 AM ET


Hundreds of federal officers descended on a small southeast Georgia community and raided the Hyundai Metaplant – arresting 475 people in one of the largest sweeps yet in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown at workplaces across the US.

The majority are Korean nationals, said Steven Schrank, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent in charge. The raid marks the largest single-site enforcement operation in HSI history, he said, though a host of other federal agencies were also involved.

Previously, federal officials estimated 450 people were apprehended Thursday at the massive site in Ellabell, about 25 miles west of Savannah, Georgia.

All 475 people taken into custody were illegally present in the US, Schrank said. Some crossed into the US illegally, some had visa waivers and were prohibited from working, and some had overstayed their visas, he said. Schrank said he did not have a breakdown of the arrestees’ nationalities.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/05/us/georgia-plant-ice-raid-hundreds-arrested-hnk

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Full headline: 475 taken into custody at GA Hyundai site - the biggest single-site operation in Homeland Security Investigations history

Article updated.

Original article/headline -

475 taken into custody at GA Hyundai site -the biggest single-site operation in Homeland Security Investigations history

Updated Sep 5, 2025, 10:57 AM ET
PUBLISHED Sep 5, 2025, 5:43 AM ET


[Breaking news update at 10:43 a.m. ET]

A multi-agency immigration raid at the Hyundai Metaplant site in Georgia led to the apprehension of 475 people, a Homeland Security Investigations official said Friday.

The majority are Korean nationals, said Steven Schrank, special agent in charge of HSI in Alabama and Georgia. He said no charges have been filed.

The raid marks the largest single-site enforcement operation in HSI history, he said.

Previously, federal officials estimated 450 people were apprehended.

[riversedge]

1. "As of today, it is our understanding that none of those detained is directly employed by Hyundai Motor Company," Hyunda

“As of today, it is our understanding that none of those detained is directly employed by Hyundai Motor Company,” Hyundai said.

Link to tweet

[travelingthrulife]

2. The people kidnapped don't work at Hyundai per Hyundai, so they are just hanging around in their building

What a ridiculous nightmare Puppy Killer is!

[travelingthrulife]

3. Oh...and let me guess...no corporate overlord will be arrested for violating

hiring laws.

[IronLionZion]

20. Contractors, companies love contracting so they can make statements like that

[Srkdqltr]

4. And then what? How does Hyundi operate?

[IbogaProject]

33. "directly employed" is the weasel phrase

They were hired through a service or a contractor, likely reduced their workman's comp and other liabilities.

[Srkdqltr]

5. What does it mean that none of those were Hyundi employees? Who were they?

[Alice B.]

17. Independent contractors? 1099'ed?

Nice. *sigh*

No worker protections. No payroll taxes. Perhaps hired through an intermediary.

[Unwind Your Mind]

24. Could be employees of an temp sort of agency

That seems more common recently

[Alice B.]

39. That makes sense. That so many are Korean is my question, too, though.

I think of the people brought over to work in Chinese restaurants. There was an article about it in the New Yorker years ago. I had no idea and think about it every time I see a 12-passenger van parked near the local buffet.

[Ritabert]

6. Are they arresting any of the executives who hired these people?

[littlemissmartypants]

10. Or the Republican governor?

[Ritabert]

19. Exactly!

[littlemissmartypants]

30. I bet a brazilion that palm greasing was involved.

[Ritabert]

32. Probably

[Bengus81]

41. Or that Trump voting dairy farm owner who admitted his operation would shut down if raided

Hell...he was right on TV saying that. Why wasn't he arrested that day or the next?

[Ritabert]

44. Good question.

[muriel_volestrangler]

43. It includes someone in the USA for business meetings for a couple of weeks

But Charles Kuck, an immigration lawyer in Atlanta, told the New York Times that two of his clients were wrongly caught up in the raid.

He told the newspaper the pair were in the US under a visa waiver programme that allows them to travel for tourism or business for up to 90 days.

"My clients were doing exactly what they were allowed to do under the visa waiver - attend business meetings," he said on Friday.

He said one of them only arrived on Tuesday and was due to leave next week.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy50yge052xo

[Ritabert]

45. I knew there were employees from South Korea there for training

Last edited Sat Sep 6, 2025, 01:50 PM - Edit history (1)

And they got this treatment even though Hyundai was investing billions in a new US factory.

[sunflowerseed]

7. Did the employer even get a ticket?

[littlemissmartypants]

9. The governor needs to resign.

[littlemissmartypants]

8. Republicans!!

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has touted the Hyundai Metaplant as a boon for the Georgia economy.

In 2022, Hyundai announced an agreement with the state of Georgia to build Hyundai’s “first dedicated fully electrified vehicle and battery manufacturing facilities in the United States” in Bryan County, the company said.

The Metaplant was expected to create 8,500 jobs.

“With the first 500 employees trained, and more soon to join them, this is another major milestone as we continue our momentum towards the full opening of the Hyundai Metaplant!” Kemp posted on social media last year.

The gov has yet to comment... Betcha a billion.

[patphil]

11. Hyundai probably contracts out for things like maintenance, janitorial service, and other low end support jobs.

It's still going to disrupt their manufacturing ability at that site.

[littlemissmartypants]

28. It shut the entire plant down.

[tonkatoy8888]

12. Odd

Okay, Hyundai is a large multinational corporation. Am I incredibly naive for thinking that huge international companies don't, as a common business practice, employ shit loads of undocumented workers in high-tech manufacturing plants?

Secondly, where does one find 450 undocumented South Koreans in Georgia?

Thirdly, if Hyundai flew them into the US to work at the plant, did they all just come as tourists and overstay their visit?

Fourthly, If I'm not the naivest person in my zip code, will most of these people be found to have work visas and this is just the latest ICE fuckup?

[DBoon]

14. they may be local undocumented immigrants working for contractors

Last edited Fri Sep 5, 2025, 12:47 PM - Edit history (1)

construction workers, janitorial staff, etc Possibly assembly workers

ON EDIT: Looks like Korean employees here on business trips. Probably not construction workers or janitors.

[tonkatoy8888]

18. That would make sense

and it was my first thought, however the article indicates that the majority were South Korean nationals.

Even accounting for the odd Pablo and Juan on the maintenance staff that still doesn't explain @400 South Korean nationals or explain how they all got here and went to work without the proper work documents.

Again, I could be dense, but something seems off to me.

[mathematic]

16. They weren't undocumented. They were on valid visas. The government is lying for headlines.

Not all of the people detained were koreans. If there were general construction workers there, they might have been undocumented, like you might find at many construction sites. I haven't seen any reporting on that aspect of the story yet.

[DBoon]

13. maybe some non-US manufacturer will have second thoughts about opening plants here

Even if those detained were not direct employees, it is hard to build or operate a plant when so many subcontractors just disappear

[IronLionZion]

21. Trump is just opening up more jobs for Americans

as if MAGA voters are applying for these jobs

[slightlv]

37. Though it would hurt us all, as a country,

I'd really like to see these corporations pull up stakes and move elsewhere. Let trump deal with the fallout of no investment money, no work, and bulging rolls of unemployed people. Maybe then people would start to strike and take back their government.

[mathematic]

15. They detained hundreds of non-immigrant legal korean workers here on B-1 visas

They're alleging that the work they were doing was not covered by visa. It's bullshit, of course. They went in there on reports of spanish speakers and swept up legal korean workers because they have complete disregard for the law and want big numbers for the headlines.

This was the battery site under construction next to the auto plant. This is a joint venture with LG and is being overseen by Hyundai Engineering. So the report that Hyundai Motors didn't employ any of these workers could be true under any number of scenarios, including completely above-the-board arraignments.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

27. I imagine ICE goons saying to each other, "man, all those brown guys look the same". . . . nt

[muriel_volestrangler]

38. LG (Energy Solution) employees, and Hyundai Engineering, were arrested

Those arrested included employees from LG Energy Solution, Hyundai Engineering, which is in charge of the factory construction, and their subcontractors

https://www.chosun.com/english/industry-en/2025/09/05/62GPAKDYXBDO3PFSOYMRE3N4LY/

And yes, "Hyundai Engineering" is the infrastructure arm of "Hyundai Motor Group", while "Hyundai Motor Company" makes the cars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyundai_Motor_Group
So this just means the people building the new plant were arrested, not people working in the already-running part.

[Katinfl]

22. I cannot believe that a company as big as Hyundai is employing illegals.

As a former owner of several Hyundai’s I can vouch for the company. They build a good, reliable, economical vehicle. That is why I believe there is a lot more to this than meets the eye. I don’t think that a car company as big and successful as Hyundai would violate the law. IMO this is Homeland Security just rounding up people irregardless of the law. They saw foreign looking people and rounded them up for the numbers. There will be more to this story I can sure you.

[Bayard]

23. "Taken into custody,"

Hopefully that means they're still checking the visas. But, you know--ICE. They don't seem to care much about legitimate visas.

MAGAs everywhere are cheering that headline.

[PSPS]

25. Don't forget that there's reportedly a $3K bonus for each person taken in.

[bucolic_frolic]

26. Senior citizens age 75 and up just got new job openings

[Bernardo de La Paz]

29. How many Medicaid recipients can assemble vehicles from their wheelchairs?

[Doodley]

31. How many are violent gang members? How many are murderers? How many were sent from

mental asylums? How many have been eating the cars and the dogs? Let me guess? None! None of them match the profile of what Trump claimed were the targets for ICE. These are folks who are just trying to make an honest living. This fascism in America is all on the whim of a racist felon psychopath whose wife came here on a visa fraud. Fuck him!

[Johnny2X2X]

34. Most of these people are here legally

Some had Visas that had expired. Some had visa waivers that should have prevented them from working.

This is all just a dog and pony show. These aren't criminals, they are people here legally who didn't stay up on their paperwork, that's not a criminal offense.

[Jilly_in_VA]

35. This is bullshit

and ICE had no business doing it. Does Donny Dipshit really want to screw up our relationship with South Korea too? If I were the South Korean president about now, I would be raising particular hell with him!

[JCMach1]

40. Hyundai gaming the system. Deport them!

Where are the fines and enforcement against corporations and individual businesses?

[Jilly_in_VA]

46. Oh come on!

These people had LEGAL VISAS! They were not "illegal immigrants". They were here on LEGAL work visas. Go read the damn article, not just the headline or the clip.

[Blue Full Moon]

36. Retaliation for MTG.

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.

[Hotler]

42. Will MAGA voters be lining up for those jobs? nt

[Jilly_in_VA]

47. They're probably too ignorant

to work the machines required.