Mass Deportation of 316 South Korean Workers Follows Immigration Raid at Hyundai Factory in Georgia

A chartered flight departed from Atlanta at midday on Thursday, carrying over 300 South Korean workers who were previously detained during an immigration operation at a battery factory in Georgia. The plane is scheduled to arrive in South Korea on Friday afternoon.

The group was transported by bus from a detention center in southeast Georgia to Atlanta earlier today. Among the passengers were 316 South Koreans, 10 Chinese nationals, three Japanese nationals, and one Indonesian.

Last week’s raid at the battery factory under construction on Hyundai’s auto plant campus west of Savannah resulted in approximately 475 detainees. They had been held at an immigration detention center in Folkston, 285 miles southeast of Atlanta.

South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung called for improvements to the U.S.’s visa system, expressing concerns that Korean companies may hesitate to make new investments in the U.S. until such improvements are made.

President Trump reportedly intervened during discussions over the detainees, instructing that they be allowed to return home freely and that those who chose not to depart would not be compelled to do so. This instruction led to a pause in the administrative procedures, according to South Korean officials.

The U.S. gave the detainees the option to either stay or return home. One South Korean national with family ties in the U.S. opted to remain in the country.

The raid at the manufacturing site, which is Georgia’s largest economic development project, marked a significant immigration enforcement action under the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda. Hyundai Motor Group began manufacturing electric vehicles at the $7.6 billion plant last year, employing about 1,200 people.

In response to the incident, Governor Brian Kemp’s office reaffirmed its strong relationship with South Korea and Korean partners like Hyundai, emphasizing their commitment to adhering to all state and federal laws. The detention of South Korean nationals made this raid unusual as they are not typically involved in immigration enforcement actions.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released a video on Saturday showing a caravan of vehicles approaching the site, followed by federal agents directing workers to line up outside. Some detainees were frisked and shackled while others had plastic ties around their wrists as they boarded a Georgia inmate-transfer bus.