A South Korean worker who witnessed the massive operation of the American immigration authorities at a Georgia car factory described the moment to be full of panic and confusion. Federal agents arrested hundreds of people, including 300 South Korean citizens, some being taken into chains.
Nearly 500 workers were arrested at Hyundai Factory Photo: X
The man, who asked to stay anonymous, worked at the factory held by Hyundai and LG Energy when the agents and customs (ICE) intervened. He said he learned about Raid Thursday morning, when he and his colleagues received numerous calls from the company chiefs. “Several telephone lines sounded, and the message was to stop operations”, The worker told the BBC.
As the news about Raid spread, the families of the workers, panicked, tried to contact them. “They were detained and left all their mobile phones in the office. Were receiving calls but I couldn't answer because [biroul] He was locked“, The man said.
American officials said that some workers tried to run away, including several who jumped into a nearby sewerage pond. They were separated into groups, depending on the nationality and a visa status, before being processed and embarked on coaches.
The biggest immigration raid since Trump's return
About 400 state and federal agents gathered in front of the $ 7.6 billion industrial complex, about half an hour from Savannah, before entering the site around 10:30, on Thursday. The 1,200 hectare complex was opened last year, and workers assemble electric vehicles.
The operation also targeted a battery factory for electric vehicles located in the same complex, suspected of illegal employment practices. Officials said that the raid has become the largest operation of applying the Law on immigration carried out in one place in the history of internal security investigations, hundreds of people who were not legally allowed to work in the US being detained.
A video shows men lined up in a room, while a masked agent, wearing a vest with HSI-Homeland Security Investigations and holding a Walkie-Talkie, tells them: “We are national security, we have a search warrant for the whole site. We need the construction work to cease immediately, we need all the work on the site right now”.
Retained workers, largely mechanics
The worker interviewed by the BBC, who has legal work in the US, said he was “shocked but not surprised“By the immigration operation. Most of the detained were mechanics who installed production lines and were employed by a contractor. A minority had been sent from the headquarters in Seoul for training.
He said that almost all the workers had a certain legal right to be in the US, but either they had the wrong type of visa or their right to work.
Hyundai and LG Energy reaction
In a common statement, Hyundai and LG Energy said that “cooperates fully with the competent authorities As for the activity on our site. To help their work, we interrupted the construction“Hyundai added that “Based on our current understanding, none of the detainees are directly employed by Hyundai Motor Company” and that “It is committed to fully respect all the laws and regulations on each market in which we operate. ”
On Friday, the ICE agent responsible for the operation, Steven Schrank, said that all 475 detainees were “illegally present in the United States“. “They entered through a variety of means: some illegally, others with a visa exemption, some have exceeded their job prohibitions.”he explained.
The raid, called by officials “Low voltage operation”, was also documented by images published by ICE, showing federal agents arriving in armored vehicles, aligning the workers in front of the factory, some of them being chained before being boarded in coaches.
