SEOUL, September 07 (AJP) - South Korean officials are scrambling to assist hundreds of their citizens detained in the United States after federal immigration authorities carried out what they called the largest enforcement operation in their history at a construction site for a Hyundai–LG Energy Solution electric vehicle battery plant in Georgia.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations arrested 475 workers during a raid on Sept. 4 at the Bryan County site, saying they had found widespread violations involving unauthorized employment and visa overstays.
U.S. authorities said many of those taken into custody had entered the country under the visa waiver program or on short-term visas that do not allow employment.
LG Energy Solution confirmed that 47 of its own employees were among those arrested, including 46 South Koreans and one Indonesian.
The company said roughly 250 workers from its partner firms were also detained, most of them believed to be South Koreans. Altogether, South Korean officials said more than 300 of those arrested were South Korean nationals.
On Saturday, consular officials from South Korea’s Consulate General in Atlanta began meeting with the detainees at an ICE processing center in Folkston, Ga., to check their health and living conditions.
“Consuls are basically checking if there are any humanitarian issues or inconveniences, and asking the U.S. side to ensure that those issues won’t arise,” said an official from the South Korean government’s on-site support team. The team is being led by Cho Ki-joong, consul general at the South Korean Embassy in Washington.
Those arrested are being held at the Folkston center and could later be moved depending on their individual circumstances, U.S. officials said.
LG Energy Solution said it had suspended all business travel to the United States for its employees, except for essential customer meetings, and had instructed staff currently in the country either to return home or remain at their accommodations.
The company is also working to ensure that detained employees have access to necessary medications.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has made immigration enforcement a centerpiece of his administration, praised the operation on Friday, referring to those detained as “illegal aliens.”
ICE later released a video clip of the raid, showing Korean and other workers being screened, shackled with chains and handcuffs, and loaded onto a transport vehicle.
reporter
Candice Kim
candicekim1121@ajupress.com
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