ICE Conducts Raid at Hyundai Facility in Georgia Resulting in Detainment of 475 Employees

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducting an operation to question people’s immigration status. Courtesy of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Wikimedia Commons.

On September 4, 2025, many South Korean workers out of a Hyundai facility in Ellabell, Georgia were detained by agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations.  The New York Post later confirmed a total of 475 people were detained. Workers were asked to stand in lines and were then questioned about their citizenship status, eventually being chained or handcuffed. 

Individual agents were seen with search warrants for the entire facility where workers were asked for their construction to “be ceased immediately”. The operation interrupted the Hyundai plant’s production, which employs around 1,400 people. 

ICE stated the reason for their investigation was due to suspicion with recent illegal activity reports from the manufacturing plant. An ICE spokesperson stated concern with “unlawful employment practices and other serious federal crimes.” Little detail has been given about the specific illegalities that led to skepticism prior to the operation. 

Interruptions also occurred outside the plant, where Georgia State Patrol troopers had to block roads heading towards the plant. 

“We need all work to end on the site right now,” said a Homeland Security Investigations officer inside the facility. 

This raid, along with countless others over the past nine months throughout different parts of the U.S. , have been a part of President Trump’s mass deportation agenda. As of August 2025, the number of people held in ICE custody reached over 60,000, the highest in U.S. history. These raids and other strategies have led to a loss of  1.2 million immigrants in the U.S. labor force, since the beginning of President Trump’s second term in January 2025.

 This raid specifically targeted one of Georgia’s biggest manufacturing plants that opened one year ago and is now  worth $7.6 billion dollars. 

South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lee Jaewoong gave further comments on behalf of the South Korean government following the raid, stating, “The business activities of our investors and the rights of our nationals must not be unjustly infringed in the process of U.S. law enforcement.” The event has been shared across several television programs in South Korea and those that have returned have shared their experiences from detainment.

There have been mixed reactions from workers returning to South Korea. Some express outrage over the events, considering them to be dehumanizing, while others are excited to be reunited with their families. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung gave his personal thoughts on how South Korea businesses will end up responding, stating, “If [immigrants working in American facilities are] no longer allowed, establishing manufacturing facilities in the US will only become more difficult... making companies question whether [investing into the US is] worth doing at all." The South Korean government and the country’s companies remain “very hesitant” to invest in the United States in the future. 

Those detained from the site consisted of those who entered across the border illegally, those who crossed legally but had an expired visa, or those who had a visa which prohibited them from working. Most of the detainees were brought to an immigration detention center in Folkston, Georgia. Over 300 of those detained were South Korean. 

Following the raid, Hyundai Motor Group is expected to invest $2.7 billion dollars into the plant, allowing for an expansion of about 3,000 jobs within the facility.The raid itself has created a delay in opening the facility due to the loss of employees. 

President Trump commented on the raid in a social media post, stating that it would be   “quickly and legally possible” for U.S. companies to hire and bring in employees from foreign countries as long as they are  willing to follow and respect the country’s immigration laws.

This raid, along with others throughout the United States over the last several months have continued to spark debate over immigration policy and the impact it may have on employment.