Nearly 500 workers were detained in an immigration sweep at a Hyundai construction site in southeast Georgia on Sept. 4, leaving families scrambling for food, transportation and legal help as social service groups and attorneys say many of the non-Korean workers remain in legal limbo.
U.S. officials described the operation as the largest workplace immigration enforcement action in roughly two decades. About 475 people were detained, and advocates said a majority of the detainees were Korean and have returned to South Korea. Local nonprofits and lawyers, however, reported a continuing flow of calls from families seeking whereabouts and assistance for workers from Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Venezuela who were taken into custody.
Rosie Harrison, who runs Grow Initiative, a nonpartisan nonprofit that connects low-income families to food, housing and education resources, said her organization’s phones have been “ringing nonstop” with panicked family members. "The worst phone calls are the ones where you have children crying, screaming, 'Where is my mom?'" Harrison said. She said many callers reported that the detained relative was the household’s sole breadwinner and that families were left without basic necessities such as baby formula and transportation.
Migrants and advocates described chaotic scenes as the raid began. Vanessa Contreras, a spokesperson for Migrant Equity Southeast, said workers called the small nonprofit almost immediately seeking legal and financial help. Federal agents confiscated cellphones and detained people who were placed in long lines, she said. Some workers hid for hours in air ducts or remote areas of the sprawling construction site; the Department of Justice said some hid in a nearby sewage pond.
Attorneys representing workers said some people taken into custody had legal authorization to work. Atlanta-based lawyer Charles Kuck said two of his clients were Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients; one had been released and "should have never been arrested," he said, while the other remained in custody on a recent separate charge of driving under the influence. Kuck also said one client was in the process of seeking asylum and had the same documents and job as her husband, who was not arrested.
Rosario Palacios, assisting Migrant Equity Southeast, said some detained workers had valid Georgia driver's licenses, which are not available to people in the country illegally. Palacios said it was difficult to understand how officials selected who to detain and who to release, and that some people arrested did not have an alien identification number and were still unaccounted for.
Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor Immigration and Customs Enforcement responded to emailed requests for comment. It was not clear Friday how many of the detained remained in custody.
The raid occurred at a construction site for a battery factory to be operated by HL-GA Battery Co. Local service providers said the economic impact was compounded in a region already facing job losses: International Paper Co. is slated to close a nearby plant at the end of the month and lay off about 800 workers.
Advocates said the enforcement action has intensified confusion and fear in immigrant communities, including among people who believe they were legally authorized to work. Grow Initiative does not check immigration status, Harrison said, but most families who reached out since the raid reported that their detained relatives had work authorization.
Lawyers and advocates framed the raid as part of a broader and more aggressive immigration enforcement posture under the current administration. Kuck said the crackdown has broadened the definition of who is treated as a "criminal" in enforcement actions, ensnaring people who are not citizens and, in some cases, those with lawful status.
Local organizations said they are continuing to field calls, coordinate legal assistance and work to meet immediate needs such as food and transportation for affected households. The scope of the raid and the number of people still held are expected to remain central questions as families and their representatives seek information and resolution.