The Hyundai-LG battery plant based in Georgia was meant to be a landmark project that extolled the virtues of global teamwork and economic prosperity. But, instead, it transpired the scene of the largest single-site immigration raid in U.S. history, an event that had a widespread impact on the diplomatic and business community not only in the U.S. but also across the Pacific.
Federal officers on an early Thursday swept the extensive site near Savannah where they arrested 475 construction workers in a dramatic and forceful operation. Government vehicles in convoys surrounded the location where workers were lined outside, many shackled at their wrists, ankles, and waist. Most of the arrested were South Korean citizens who were brought in by subcontractors to do construction work on the electric vehicle battery plant co-owned by Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution. The place, which was still under development, had been the largest economic project in Georgia, anticipated to create thousands of jobs and establish the state’s position in the EV surge.
Steven Schrank, the Homeland Security Investigations special agent in charge for Georgia, said that the raid was the end of a long investigation into labor malpractices at the factory. Out of those who were arrested, some had come into the country illegally, others had exceeded their visa duration, and a large number were working under visa waivers that did not allow for employment. The operation was part of a broader immigration crackdown under the Trump administration, which involved mass arrests all over the country. To quote President Donald Trump in a very straightforward manner, “They were illegal aliens and ICE was just doing its job.”
The diplomatic repercussions were not long in coming. South Korea, a very close American ally and one of the biggest investors in the country, was surprised by the magnitude and the timing of the raid. Just a few weeks before, Seoul had committed billions to U.S. production, and it had agreed to buy U.S. energy worth $100 billion in return for trade concessions.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun was getting ready for emergency talks in Washington with President Lee Jae Myung’s administration, which had to act fast. A statement was released by Seoul saying that the situation was “both worrying and regrettable,” and emphasizing that during U.S. law enforcement, the rights and interests of its citizens and companies should not be disregarded.
The two governments were prompt to respond, and after only a couple of days, South Korea revealed the decision reached to ensure the release of the workers who had been arrested. According to Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, a plane will be chartered to bring the workers home after the formalities consist including the necessary paperwork, are done. This solution to the immediate conflict was enough to soothe the tension, but didn’t fully reassure. The South Korean press covered this event as a shock that could cast a shadow on future investments. Opposition lawmakers accused President Lee of abandoning South Korean citizens and businesses to fend for themselves abroad.
The impact on the economy is equally hard to disregard. The Hyundai-LG battery plant is a great example of the kind of strategic investment that the U.S. has been striving for, with South Korean companies committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the construction of factories and the creation of jobs. The administration, however, in trying to accomplish two separate objectives, namely, on the one hand, attracting foreign investment and, on the other, enforcing stringent immigration policies, ended up creating a paradox.
Georgia officials, who had sought Korean capital for many years, discovered that they were in the middle of a conflict situation: on the one hand, they could celebrate economic development, and on the other, they had to give their support to the federal law enforcement officers.
Hyundai and LG Energy Solution, on the other hand, limited their reactions to public statements of restraint. The two companies thoroughly stressed the workers’ safety and started internal investigations into the practices of their subcontractors. LG limited business travel to the U.S. for its employees temporarily, and also advised employees who were already in the country to stay in their rooms or go back home.
Hyundai made it clear that among those arrested, none of their directly-recruited staff were included, while LG informed that out of their people, 47 were detained, and most of them were short-term business travelers with varied visa statuses.
Even when the emergency had disappeared, both governments had already begun to reconsider their policies regarding immigration and labor, that is if they wanted to avoid a similar incident in the future. The raid may have concluded, but its aftershocks will linger—in the corridors of diplomacy, in the supply chains of the electric vehicle industry, and in the calculations of international investors deciding how and where to build in the years ahead.