Work at a Hyundai Motor car battery facility under construction in Georgia has ground to a halt after hundreds of workers, predominantly South Korean nationals, were arrested in an immigration raid.
The site is one of the Korean car maker's most substantial investments in the US.
Approximately 475 people were arrested, according to US immigration officials, marking the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The arrests occur amidst an escalating crackdown on immigrants by the administration of President Donald Trump, a policy that has disrupted businesses across the country even as the White House has actively encouraged more foreign investment.
This incident risks heightening tensions between Washington and Seoul, a crucial ally and investor in the US. The two nations have already been at loggerheads over the finer details of a trade deal that includes $150 billion in US investments, with Hyundai Motor alone pledging $26 billion.
Homeland Security officials said the workers arrested at the Ellabell, Georgia, site were barred from working in the US after crossing the border illegally or overstaying their visas.
A Hyundai Motor spokesperson said none of the people arrested were employed directly by the company.
The spokesperson said its chief manufacturing officer for North America, Chris Susock, would "assume governance of the entire megasite in Georgia."
"We will conduct an investigation to ensure all suppliers and their subcontractors comply with all laws and regulations.
“Hyundai has zero tolerance for those who don’t follow the law."
The arrested workers were being held at ICE's Folkston, Georgia, detention facility, Schrank said. Most of the 475 people are South Korean nationals, he said.
Korean media has put the number of South Koreans detained at roughly 300 people.
The raid - dubbed "Operation Low Voltage" - included more than 400 law enforcement officers after a months-long investigation.
A spokesperson at Hyundai's battery joint venture partner, South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solutions 373220.KS, said in a statement it was cooperating and had paused construction work.
The facility, a joint venture between LGES and Hyundai Motor, was due to start operations at the end of this year, according to LGES.
Hyundai Motor shares ended down 0.7 per cent on Friday, and LGES shares dropped 2.3 per cent.
‘Largest development project’
Under Trump, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, part of DHS, has driven the Republican leader's sweeping crackdown on migrants, bolstered by record funding and new latitude to conduct raids.
Trump has said he wants to deport "the worst of the worst" criminals but ICE figures have shown a rise in non-criminals being picked up. Rights advocates have denounced such raids.
The White House said on Friday that "any foreign workers brought in for specific projects must enter the United States legally and with proper work authorizations."
South Korea's Foreign Ministry expressed regret and concern about the raid.
"The economic activities of our companies investing in the United States and the interests of our citizens must not be unduly violated during the course of U.S. law enforcement," ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong said in a statement on Friday.
Social media video showed a man wearing a vest with the letters HIS, an acronym for Homeland Security Investigations, telling workers in yellow safety vests: "We have a search warrant for the whole site. We need construction to cease immediately. We need all work to end on the site right now."
The U.S. Department of Justice in a statement said several people tried to flee during the raid. Some had to be fished out of a sewage pond on the site, DOJ said.
Georgia's Democratic Party condemned the raid, calling it part of "politically motivated fear tactics designed to terrorize people who work hard for a living, power our economy, and contribute to the communities across Georgia that they have made their homes."
In a statement, a spokesman for Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said: “In Georgia, we will always enforce the law, including all state and federal immigration laws."
Hyundai said its production of electric vehicles at the sprawling site was not affected.
In 2023, Hyundai Motor and LG Energy announced the $4.3 billion venture to produce EV battery cells, with each company holding a 50 per cent stake.
The plant will supply batteries for Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EV models.
The battery factory is part of Hyundai's $12.6 billion investments in the state, including the automaker's just-opened car factory, in what would be "the largest economic development project in the state’s history."
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