Border agents snare almost half the entire staff at Hyundai plant in one of Trump's biggest migration raids
By Will Potter
Daily Mail
Sep 5, 2025
Pictured: A total of 475 immigrants suspected of working in the US illegally were detained at a Hyundai factory in Georgia, according to Homeland Security officials
Almost 500 people were arrested in the largest Homeland Security raid in US history as agents descended on a Hyundai factory in Georgia.
Footage from the raid on Thursday showed rows of workers at the factory being lined up and sat on grass outside the facility as masked federal agents watched over them.
Officials said a total of 475 immigrants suspected of working in the US illegally were detained - the vast majority of them from Korea - which represented almost half of the factory's 1200 workers.
Steven Schrank, the special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia, told reporters Friday that he was unsure how many exactly were Korean and said no criminal charges had yet been filed.
Many of those who were detained had entered the US illegally while others previously had visas but overstayed their legal work permits, officials said.
Schrank added that the raid was the result of a months-long investigation into the facility, and described the sweep as the largest enforcement operation at a single site in the history of Homeland Security Investigations.
'This operation underscores our commitment to protecting jobs for Georgians and Americans, ensuring a level playing field for businesses that comply with the law, safeguarding the integrity of our economy and protecting workers from exploitation,' he said.
The massive raid comes days after the Trump administration announced it was stepping up its deportation efforts and would clear the way to detain as many as 256,000 Venezuelans by ending their temporary protection status.
The raid was the result of a months-long investigation into the facility, said Steven Schrank, the special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia
The mass arrests of Korean nationals also prompted a diplomatic dispute as South Korea's Foreign Ministry dispatched officials to the factory.
The ministry also urged the U.S. Embassy in Seoul 'to exercise extreme caution to ensure that the legitimate rights and interests of Korean citizens are not infriThe raid was the result of a months-long investigation into the facility, said Snged upon.'
'The economic activities of Korean investment companies and the rights and interests of Korean citizens must not be unfairly infringed upon during U.S. law enforcement operations,' the statement read.
Following the raid on the Hyundai factory on Thursday, officials said the detainees would be moved to an ICE facility in Folkston, Georgia, near the Florida-Georgia state line.
'They will be moved based on their individual circumstances beyond that,' Schrank said.
Following the raid on the Hyundai factory on Thursday, officials said the detainees would be moved to an ICE facility in Folkston, Georgia, near the Florida-Georgia state line
Pictured: Detainees from the factory that employs around 1,200 people are being moved by ATF officers
The move was quickly condemned by Yvonne Brooks, the president of Georgia's chapter of American Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), who blasted it as 'politically motivated.'
'This raid is the latest in an ongoing campaign of harassment that has targeted immigrant Georgians as they try to earn an honest living,' she said in a statement, per CBS News.
'Arresting and detaining workers, who are exploited every day and risk their lives every day on the job, creates an atmosphere of fear that terrorizes workers and their families and increases the workload burden on their coworkers.'
The Hyundai plant where the raid occurred cost upwards of $7.6 billion and employed around 1,200 people, and had been touted by Georgia officials as one of the most significant economic projects in the state's history.
Hyundai began manufacturing electric vehicles at the plant a year ago, but construction was shut down by the raid.
5 comments:
It appears that Hyundai smuggled in ILLEGAL workers. Who could the ILLEGALS complain to if they were underpaid and treated poorly? I cannot imagine the horrors of their slave labor environment. This is a classic case of human smuggling. They were stuffed into stash houses and bused to and from work. These ILLEGALS were not making an honest living. Probably had to pay to live in squalor and maintain no contact with the outside world for fear of reprisal. This appears to have been an organized ILLEGAL endeavor. This wasn't an American dream for them. It was a nightmare. Hyundai should be prosecuted. Hyundai bypassed hiring American citizens. Thank you, 45-47. This is what the American citizens voted for.
I've just got through browsing the internet for more than a half-an-hour and I could not find a single reliable source that verified what you said about Hyundai smuggling in illegal workers and using them as slave laborers. This is beneath you.
When Hyundai announced it would build a plant in Georgia it was hailed by the President and by officials in Georgia. I wonder how many illegal immigrants are working at the Toyota plant in San Antonio? I'll wager that the people in Georgia did not favor that Hyundai raid. And neither would the people in Texas favor a similar raid on the Toyota plant.
There are millions of illegal immigrants in this country. Those 475 Hyundai detainees don't even amount to a drop in the bucket. I'm all for deporting the gang members and other criminals among the illegal immigrants, but not for stupid shit like dozens of federal agents busting a single strawberry peddler in Los Angeles and the Hyundai raid in Georgia.
I suspect the allegations about Hyundai smuggling in illegals and using them for slave labor originated with conspiracy theorists. The internet is overloaded with those jerks.
I hope American citizens are hired for those positions.
I didn't read what I believe to be the scenario on the internet. These are my own thoughts and opinion. I was on the ground floor of TABC human smuggling operations. TABC now has an entire division dedicated to the task. We have raided stash houses and seen human smuggling first hand. I even worked on a panel to eliminate human smuggling with the City of Houston, The Catholic Church, The East End Women's Shelter and the State Legislature in 1999. We presented legislation which passed. It eliminated Taxi Dancing in clubs across Texas. These practices were curtailed because they encouraged human smuggling and prostitution. The 475 Hyundai ILLEGAL immigrants were not a drop in the bucket. They were not represented by a union or even Hyundai HR. They were there to work for less money and more profit for Hyundai. I'll wager no one looked out for them. It was an evil recipe for human abuse. I speak from experience.
I applaud your efforts to curb human trafficken. I know you were an outstanding law enforcement officer.
But you did not say it was your opinion in your original comment about Hyundai and you made it look like fact. Over half of those detained were Koreans and they were here on visitor visas. They became illegals when they went to work at Hyundai and became Georgia residents.
When you consider that there are millions of illegal immigrants in this country, 475 detainees indeed do not amount to a drop in the bucket.
In your original comment you said this is what the people voted for. Again, that is your opinion. There have been huge protests against Trump's immigration policies in several cities. In my opinion, immigration was not a major issue with the voters. They couldn't stomach Kamala Harris and many voted against her when they cast their ballot. If the Democrats had had a credible candidate, Trump would likely have lost.
While I do not like Trump, I'm glad he won. Many of his policies are good and he really has made America great again.
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