US cuffs 475 at Hyundai–LG battery plant – feds tout largest single-site raid
- Reference: 1757111434
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/09/05/ice_hyundai_arrests/
- Source link:
Dubbed Operation Low Voltage, hundreds of federal agents entered the facility on Thursday, according to HSI Special Agent in Charge Steven Schrank, who [1]called "the largest single site enforcement operation in the history of Homeland Security Investigations." He added this was not a random raid, but one that had been planned months in advance.
"This was a significant undertaking with substantial results. Over 400 agents participated in this massive event, and over 400 illegal workers were identified and detained," [2]said United States Attorney Margaret Heap in a statement.
[3]
"The goal of this operation is to reduce illegal employment and prevent employers from gaining an unfair advantage by hiring unauthorized workers. Another goal is to protect unauthorized workers from exploitation."
[4]I just deleted my entire social media presence before visiting the US – and I'm a citizen
[5]How ICE became a $2.8b domestic surveillance agency
[6]Biden stopped ICE from buying Israeli spyware, but Trump admin allows it to proceed
[7]San Francisco cops want real-time access to private security cameras for surveillance
According to the US, several panicked suspects tried to escape via a sewage pond next to the factory, and officers rescued them by boat. One soul tried to overturn one of the law enforcement boats by diving underneath it.
Hyundai cut the ribbon on its 3,000-acre (1,214-hectare) Metaplant EV factory in Georgia in March, while a separate Hyundai–LG battery joint venture is still under construction next door. Together with another joint venture, the projects form part of a $12.6 billion investment package the South Korean automaker has pledged in the state. At the opening, Republican governor Brian Kemp [8]claimed the investment was "a once-in-a-generation opportunity." But the South Korean government is very unhappy about the raid and dispatched diplomats to Georgia to assist its nationals and press Washington to respect their rights.
[9]
"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," South Korea's foreign ministry said in a [10]statement .
An official said some of those detained were in the US on valid visas. Reports also indicate that a number of LG Energy Solution staff visiting from South Korea were caught up in the raid. Neither company had any comment at the time of publication. ®
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[1] https://apnews.com/article/us-south-korea-ice-raid-georgia-hyundai-9394482c195664d7cc3db67ae998ac05
[2] https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdga/pr/operation-low-voltage-homeland-security-investigations-executes-federal-search-warrant
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aLux2PwH-q8PioM_fZ2KZwAAARA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/21/column_social_media_entrapment/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/14/ice_28bn_domestic_surveillance/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/02/biden_stopped_ice_from_buying/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/11/san_francisco_police_private_security_cameras/
[8] https://www.hyundainews.com/en-us/releases/4407
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aLux2PwH-q8PioM_fZ2KZwAAARA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://www.wsj.com/us-news/u-s-arrests-hundreds-in-raid-at-hyundai-plant-construction-site-in-georgia-4e150feb
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
“An official said some of those detained were in the US on valid visas.”
Probably 395 of them.
Like that matters to the MAGAts. Headlines generated, rednecks fired up, billionaire knobs polished… mission accomplished.
<1% of fentanyl comes from Canada, 99% from Mexico. Canada exports drugs to us clean American folks. Close the border.
The MAGA wingnuts ignore the drugs and arms trade from the USA to Canada and Mexico. OF COURSE.
LG should call it a day in the USA.
They look funny
I imagine the South Korean workers got scooped up because they have tan skin and look funny. Therefore sus as anything. Dunno if I need a /s, probably ought to. /s
Got a valid visa, nothing to worry about but a day or two of inconvenience. I wish UK Immigration and Border Force was this aggressive !!
Easy to say if you're native colouring. You might have a different opinion on a day or two of 'inconvenience' if you didn't.
Or they could check first. That is what a civilised country would do. There is far too much arrest first, check later. It happens in the UK too. It's very lazy policing.
8% of legal non-US citizens have been detained for 3 months and 3% for 8 months of inconvenience. A US citizen was detained for 10 days. Up to 70 US citizens have been deported (to the US?). The US is actively trying to deport people to countries that have travel advisories that warn of extreme danger from the US State Department. Wife, kids, other family in the US? Do you feel lucky today?
Reform or Maga or something a little more sinister !!!???
What planet are you on ???
A day or two of inconvenience ???
Dear god in heaven, before you throw the idea out ... maybe you should try it first and let everyone know how good the 'holiday' was !!!
They are already considered to be 'unwanted scum of the earth' by the MAGA crowd, having a valid visa will not really change that view.
How kindly do you think they are going to be treated ... innocent or guilty does not come into this ... this is basic xenophobia with huge racial bias.
Maybe we should just 'string them all up' ... like the nice good ol'boys did to all those black people not too long ago !!!
:)
I hear Russia is nice this time of year and really likes visitors. Maybe take a trip and let us know how it goes.
If you call...
... being locked up I a cell for days and treated with deportation for legally working a mere "inconvenience".
Keeping in mind that these are the people who are going to use “you got arrested!” against you the next time you apply for a visa…
A whole shitshow from start to finish
Ah yes, let the employer walk away scot-free, but arrest those who are here legally. And the MAGA base will lap it up because of who they are.
A bunch of fucking clowns.
Re: A whole shitshow from start to finish
Looks like a targeted anti-EV attack on LG. I group it with stopping the windfarms and the car charging, rather than the usual immigration themed ICE theatre. A giveaway is: "this was not a random raid, but one that had been planned months in advance"
Re: anti-EV
Sean Duffy: "We will beat China back to the Age of Steam!"
Re: A whole shitshow from start to finish
As in any good system, arrest those at the bottom not those further up. *
* No bosses were harmed in this slave labour production.
TSMC
May want to take notes before building more manufacturing in the US. You'd think that any inquiry would have been low key into a foreign country that just promised even more investment in the US. But not the orange marshmallow.
Re: TSMC
That's exactly right. And I believe there was a lot of back forth between the US and TSMC over how many Taiwanese workers should be there for construction and operation, which got sorted out in a civil manner. If they are going to bring their tech and methodology and copy it over here, they need to bring their trusted educated people with experience to do it. According to WSJ, a total of 500 were detained, 475 arrested, of which 300 were South Korean.
As for the US employees who handler the contracts with contractors who in turn hire subcontracts who .... finally illegal hired the non-working-visa holding workers - I doubt much will happen to them because the e-verify system is not fit for purpose, and there is no motivation to fix it specifically because it provides the employing side with margin of deniability that some of them want to take advantage of.
You would think that CA being a Democratic stronghold would be keen to place the onus on employers and not the desperate illegal employees, but no.
Reminder for California Employers: Immigration Status Protection (June, 2025)
...
- An employer who reverifies the employment eligibility of a current employee in a manner not required by federal immigration law may face a civil penalty of $10,000.
So an employer checking a fake looking document or doing a more thorough check is subject to enormous penalty. That unbearable doublespeak is to protect the employers who want to abuse the e-verify system, not the employees, and certainly not the would-be legally employable employees who would demand a higher wage.
Hmmmm, what day is Kristallnacht this year?
You know, the night that ICE raid and smash all the “illegal” businesses.
It’s a great spectacle for the kiddies.
Ra Ra Trumpenführer!
Come manufacture in 'Murica - as long as it ain't no pinko battery plant.
Make goddamn pitch dipped torches for our mobs, you freaks.
"In olden days it was the job of young boys called 'Link boys' to light the way for rich gentry"
Now that's honest work for Americans!