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angrychair

(11,156 posts)
Fri Sep 5, 2025, 03:56 PM Sep 5

Ready, fire, aim

Apparently a large group of South Koreans were kidnapped by ICE but Hyundai is saying none of them were Hyundai employees. LG Electronics apparently did have some employees kidnapped.

It also set off a bit of diplomatic nightmare as South Korean diplomatic staff flew in from DC and Atlanta to determine the status and health of their citizens.

Should be noted this is an $8 BILLION DOLLAR venture and critical to Georgia's economic future and this will likely have a lasting chilling impact on future investments.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/us/georgia-battery-plant-hyundai-lg-ice-raid.html

9 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Irish_Dem

(75,060 posts)
1. Trump is doing an amazing job destroying the US in a short period of time.
Fri Sep 5, 2025, 04:07 PM
Sep 5

Everything he touches dies.

haele

(14,599 posts)
3. The LG department there was part of a Biden investment project...
Fri Sep 5, 2025, 04:16 PM
Sep 5

I'm also suspicious of about yesterday's"Majority undocumented Central American" claim.

I'm thinking they went in and arrested everyone at the building they raided who either wasn't white or spoke in a noticably Georgia accent, calling them all "undocumented".

WarGamer

(17,910 posts)
5. Here's an actually accurate article or two.
Fri Sep 5, 2025, 05:07 PM
Sep 5
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hundreds-south-korean-nationals-detained-largest-single-site-immigrati-rcna229312


Federal and immigration agents arrested 475 people while executing a judicial search warrant at a Hyundai facility in Georgia as part of a criminal investigation into allegations of unlawful employment practices.

Everyone arrested, most of them South Korean nationals, were "illegally present in the United States or in violation of their presence in the United States, working unlawfully," Steven Schrank, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia, said at a news conference Friday morning.

It was the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of Homeland Security Investigations, Schrank said, adding it “underscores our commitment to jobs for Georgians and Americans."


https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-immigration-agents-arrest-hundreds-raid-georgia-hyundai-plant-2025-09-05/

"This was not an immigration operation where agents went into the premises, rounded up folks and put them on buses," he said. Schrank said there was a network of subcontractors on the site; a Hyundai Motor spokesperson said none of the people detained were employed directly by the automaker, which complies "with all laws and regulations wherever we operate."
The workers were being held at ICE's Folkston, Georgia detention facility, Schrank said. Most of the 475 people are Korean nationals, he said. Local Korean media said roughly 300 people detained were South Korean nationals.
A spokesperson at Hyundai's battery joint venture partner, South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solutions, said in a statement it was cooperating and had paused construction work. The facility, a joint venture between LGES and Hyundai Motor, was due to start operations at the end of this year, according to LGES.

angrychair

(11,156 posts)
8. Yep
Fri Sep 5, 2025, 08:58 PM
Sep 5

Yep, I think that's an accurate description. When you grab people against their will, without a warrant or probable cause, what else would you call it?

muriel_volestrangler

(104,760 posts)
9. Neither of those note that Hyundai Engineering employees were arrested
Sat Sep 6, 2025, 04:09 AM
Sep 6

That's the sister company of Hyundai Motor Company.

Agents wearing U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) vests conducted identity checks, including passport verification and facial photography, and detained violators (suspects) by binding their hands with ‘cable ties.’ One employee reported, “A Korean employee who came on a business trip with a B1, commercial, visa for local personnel training was also arrested.” It is known that approximately 300 Koreans, including employees from LG Energy Solution, Hyundai Engineering (the company responsible for construction), and their affiliates, were detained locally. The operation, which resulted in the arrest of around 450 people, was simultaneously reported by foreign media outlets such as the NYT, Reuters, NBC, and ABC.

https://www.chosun.com/english/industry-en/2025/09/06/DETKQGQT6NDFFGAXTTL3UCJ35I/
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