BRYAN COUNTY, GA — Multiple state and federal agencies carried out what officials are calling the largest immigration enforcement operation in Georgia history at the construction site of Hyundai’s massive new battery facility near Savannah.
The raid involved agents from Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the FBI, DEA, ATF, and other agencies. Homeland Security spokesman Steven Schrenk described it as a “judicially authorized enforcement operation” and confirmed investigators are looking into “unlawful employment practices going on at this massive multi-hundred acre construction site.”
475 people were detained during the operation, most of which were South Korean nationals.
According to the Associated Press, the South Korean government has expressed “concern and regret” due to the multi-month long operation that appeared to target its citizens.
“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,” South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lee Jaewoong said in a televised statement from Seoul.
Kevin Souza, a former worker at the site who raised concerns about working conditions, said he wasn’t surprised by the enforcement action. “Nobody in America should ever be treated like that or have to work in these kinds of conditions,” he told reporters.
Schrank says some crossed the border illegally, some came through visa waiver and were prohibited from working and others overstayed their visas.
HLGA, the battery company contracted at the site, released a statement saying it has paused construction work and is cooperating fully with investigators.
The investigation is ongoing.
WSB Radio’s Jennifer Perry contributed to this story.