On Thursday, approximately 450 undocumented migrants were detained during a significant immigration enforcement operation at a Hyundai electric car battery factory in Georgia, as announced by Atlanta’s Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Numerous agencies, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations, participated in the operation at the Hyundai–LG Energy Solution battery plant construction site in Ellabell, roughly 20 miles from Savannah.
This action marks the largest of its kind at a U.S. manufacturing site in recent years, following significant enforcement measures at other workplaces in recent months under the Trump administration.
This facility, a joint venture project valued between $4.3 billion and $7.6 billion by Hyundai and LGES, aims to supply batteries to Hyundai’s nearby Savannah electric vehicle plant, representing the largest industrial investment in Georgia’s history.
Workers are escorted by federal agents following an immigration raid at Hyundai’s battery plant construction site in Georgia. (ATF Atlanta)
Georgia State Patrol troopers barricaded roads leading to the Hyundai plant. The Georgia Department of Public Safety informed the Associated Press that they were deployed to support federal authorities.
The raid comes after South Korea agreed to $350 billion worth of investments in the U.S. as part of a trade deal struck in July.
The battery plant under construction is scheduled to begin operations at the end of this year, LGES told the Financial Times.
Federal agents detain workers during an immigration raid at the Hyundai battery plant construction site in Ellabell, Georgia. (ATF)
“We are working closely with the South Korean government and relevant authorities to ensure the safety of our staff and contractors, and to facilitate their prompt release from detention,” the company stated. Fox News Digital has sought further comments from Hyundai and LGES.
Video posted to social media Thursday showed workers in yellow safety vests lined up as a man wearing a face mask and a tactical vest with the letters HSI, which stands for Homeland Security Investigations, tells them: “We’re Homeland Security. We have a search warrant for the whole site.”
“We need construction to cease immediately,” the man says. “We need all work to end on the site right now.”
