More than 300 foreign workers detained in a high‑profile Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at a Hyundai‑LG battery plant in Georgia will return to South Korea on a chartered flight Thursday after a delay tied to U.S. efforts to give them the option of remaining in the United States, South Korean officials said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun that President Donald Trump wanted to “encourage” the detained workers to stay and help train American personnel, a South Korean foreign ministry official told Yonhap. That prompted a pause in the planned departures so Seoul could determine whether the nationals—described by officials as skilled technicians—wished to return home or remain in the United States.
South Korean President Lee Jae‑myung said Thursday that 330 of the roughly 475 people detained on Sept. 4 were released from an ICE facility in Folkston, Ga., and would depart on a flight from Atlanta without restraints. The released group includes 316 South Koreans, 10 Chinese nationals, three Japanese and one Indonesian, Lee said. He said one South Korean detainee chose to remain in the United States.
Video released by U.S. authorities showed detainees restrained in handcuffs and ankle chains at the time of arrest, and Lee said the group had been “extremely shocked and exhausted.” Lee said each person was allowed to choose whether to return and that the U.S. government told Seoul, in essence, “If you want to go, you may go; if you want to stay, you may stay.”
The raid, carried out as part of a nationwide initiative named “Operation Take Back America,” drew sharp diplomatic and business concerns from Seoul. It occurred weeks after South Korean firms pledged $350 billion in U.S. investment as part of a trade deal, raising alarm in Seoul that aggressive immigration enforcement could deter future projects.
Lee warned that the detentions were “bewildering” and could “have a significant impact on future investment decisions, particularly when evaluating the feasibility of direct operations in the U.S.” Analysts and officials said the incident prompted companies to reassess risks tied to unclear visa policies for short‑term skilled technicians who are commonly used to install equipment and train local workforces.
South Korea said it received assurances that its nationals would not face barriers to reentry in the future. Cho and Rubio discussed forming a bilateral “working group” to improve visa systems for South Korean businesses, an initiative that could include creation of a new visa category to reflect long‑term investment needs, Cho told Yonhap.
The reported White House interest in keeping some workers in the United States represents a shift in tone from comments Trump made after the raid urging foreign companies “to please respect our Nation’s Immigration Laws” and to “hire and train American Workers.” Georgia state officials praised the enforcement action at the time.
Immigration attorneys for several detainees disputed ICE’s assertion that those arrested were working illegally. Charles Kuck, who represents seven of the South Koreans, said many entered the United States under the Electronic System for Travel Authorization or on B‑1 temporary business‑visitor visas. Under State Department guidelines, B‑1 visa holders may install, service or repair commercial or industrial equipment or train U.S. workers when specified in a contract.
Kuck said many of his clients were engineers or involved in after‑sales service and installation and that “the vast majority” should not have been detained, according to reporting by Reuters and the Associated Press.
Experts said the episode highlights tensions in U.S. policy between enforcing immigration rules and attracting foreign direct investment. Ryu Yongwook, an assistant professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy who specializes in East Asian international relations, told TIME this week that the U.S. must craft a “fine‑tuned immigration policy” to reconcile security goals with efforts to lure big foreign investments.
The raid also disrupted work on the Georgia battery plant, delaying construction that had been expected to create thousands of U.S. jobs. South Korean officials said the temporary detention of technicians and trainers had slowed project timelines and could factor into future site decisions.
U.S. and South Korean officials emphasized that discussions were ongoing to prevent a recurrence and to clarify visa processes for short‑term, skilled workers involved in industrial projects. The working group proposed by Cho and Rubio aims to identify administrative or regulatory changes that would smooth business travel and technical exchanges between the two countries, Seoul officials said.
The repatriation of the released detainees follows intense diplomatic engagement and media scrutiny since early September. The extent to which the White House offer to keep some technicians in the United States will translate into a formal policy change, new visa category or routine concessions for foreign industrial projects remains to be determined as officials from both governments continue negotiations.