Federal agents arrested 475 people at a sprawling Hyundai Motor Company and LG Energy joint complex in Ellabell, Georgia, in what Homeland Security officials called the largest single-site immigration enforcement operation in the department's history.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents entered the site at about 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, after some 400 state and federal officers had gathered outside the $7.6 billion factory complex roughly half an hour from Savannah. The operation, dubbed "Operation Low Voltage" by officials, targeted a battery plant being constructed on the same compound as an existing electric vehicle assembly facility.
A South Korean worker who witnessed the operation told the BBC there was widespread panic and confusion as agents moved through the site, lined workers up inside and began detaining people. He said managers repeatedly called employees to shut down operations and that many detained workers left their cell phones locked in the office, leaving families unable to reach them.
ICE released footage showing agents arriving in armoured vehicles, herding workers into lines and loading detainees onto buses. Some images and videos reviewed by BBC Verify appear to show men chained together and others attempting to flee, including two men photographed in a nearby river and agents pulling one man from the water.
Steven Schrank, the ICE agent who oversaw the raid, said on Friday that the 475 detainees were "illegally present in the United States." He told reporters the group included people who had crossed the border illegally, people who had entered on visa waivers that prohibit employment, and individuals who had overstayed visas.
The BBC witness said most of those detained were mechanics installing production lines and were employed by contractors rather than Hyundai Motor Company directly. He added that a smaller number of people appeared to have been sent from the company's Seoul headquarters to provide training. That assertion has not been independently confirmed.
Hyundai and LG Energy released a joint statement saying they were "co-operating fully with the appropriate authorities regarding activity at our construction site" and had paused construction to assist the inquiry. Hyundai said that "based on our current understanding, none of those detained is directly employed by Hyundai Motor Company" and reiterated its commitment to compliance with laws and regulations in markets where it operates.
The factory complex, announced in 2022 and opened last year, has been described by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp as the largest economic development project in the state's history. Local Korean American community leaders said the arrests have left families shocked and concerned about potential diplomatic and community impacts. Cho Dahye, president of the Korean American Association of Greater Savannah, said the raid was "very shocking" and expressed hope it would not harm U.S.-South Korean relations.
The witness who spoke with the BBC said he sympathised with detained workers but did not find the enforcement action surprising under the current administration, citing a climate he characterised as "America first." He suggested the administrative and timing difficulties of obtaining appropriate U.S. work visas had sometimes led foreign companies to use contractors and temporary staffing solutions, a practice he said may now be reassessed.
U.S. officials said the probe involved alleged illegal employment practices connected with the battery plant construction. ICE described the operation as the largest single-site action in Homeland Security investigatory history but provided no immediate timetable for processing or deportation of those detained.
BBC reporters said when they visited the site over the weekend there were few visible signs of Thursday's raid, though security personnel asked them to move on while they filmed from the side of the road. Both Hyundai and LG Energy and DHS were contacted for further comment; the companies reiterated cooperation with authorities.
The investigation is ongoing, and federal officials have said they will provide further information as processing of detainees continues. Local officials and community groups are monitoring the situation and the implications for workforce practices at large foreign-led industrial projects in the United States.