After federal law enforcement officials said they conducted a raid at a Georgia battery plant that they called the "largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of Homeland Security Investigations," over 300 South Korean migrants have been released from U.S. custody.
According to the Yonhap News Agency, the migrants will board a plane and fly back to South Korea on Thursday, nearly a week after being detained. The operation took place at a Hyundai plant in Bryan County, Georgia. Officials said that 475 people — mostly South Korean nationals — were apprehended. Some of those present had entered the U.S. illegally, overstayed their visas, or did not have proper work permits.
Yonhap News Agency said that buses carrying the migrants were seen early Thursday leaving an immigration facility in Georgia.
The Hyundai plant opened in May 2022 and began production last year. The company said the plant would employ 8,500 workers.
The incident has prompted concerns for South Korean businesses investing in the U.S.
Yonhap News Agency reported that President Lee Jae Myung said the raid could make some South Korean firms "hesitant" about investing in the United States.
It "could be disadvantageous or difficult to set up a factory there, so they can't but agonize over it," Lee said, according to Yonhap.
The release of migrants came one day after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun. A readout of the meeting provided by the State Department did not mention any discussion of the Georgia raid.
"Secretary and Foreign Minister underscored the lasting strength of the U.S.–ROK Alliance, the linchpin of peace, security, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the Indo-Pacific for more than 70 years. The Secretary said the United States welcomes ROK investment into the United States and stated his interest in deepening cooperation on this front," the readout says.
