Federal and immigration agents arrested 475 people while executing a judicial search warrant in a Hyundai installation in Georgia as part of a current criminal investigation into accusations of illegal work practices.
All those arrested, most of them South Korean citizens were “illegally present in the United States or in violation of their presence in the United States, working illegally,” said Steven Schrank, a special agent in charge of national security investigations in Georgia, at a press conference on Friday morning.
This is the application of a single larger site in the history of national security research, Schrank said, adding that “it underlines our commitment to works for Georgians and American.”
A sea of HSI agents, immigration control and customs and other federal agencies were presented on Thursday to a construction site in the city of Ellabell, where South Korean companies Hyundai and LG Energy Solution are jointly building a new battery plant next to their manufacturing installation for electric vehicles.
The videos on social networks showed agents that resort to hundreds of workers at the construction site. Schrank said they questioned everyone about their immigration status, reviewing their documents and making background verifications.
“This was not an immigration operation where agents entered the facilities, gathered people and put them on buses. This has been a multimanth criminal investigation,” Schrack said.
Criminal charges have not been submitted in relation to ongoing investigation from Friday morning.
The South Korean government responded to the arrests of many of its nationals in a statement on Friday.
“In the course of the application of the Law of the United States, the economic activities of our investment companies and the rights and interests of our nationals should not be unfairly infringed,” said Lee Jae-Woong, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea. “We transmit our concern and regret to the United States embassy today and we urge them to take special care to ensure that the legitimate rights and interests of our nationals are not violated.”
Jae-Woong added that a working group will be established on the site in Georgia with the help of the South Korean consulate in Atlanta.
A Hyundai spokesman told NBC News in a statement on Friday that the company is “monitoring the situation closely and working to understand the specific circumstances.”
“As of today, we understand that none of the detainees is used directly by Hyundai Motor Company. We prioritize the safety and well -being of all those who work on the site and comply with all laws and regulations wherever we operate,” says the statement.
According to Schrank, workers arrested at the construction site were used by a network of several contractors and subcontractors, which researchers are investigating.
All remain in ice custody after most of them were taken to the Folkston Immigration Processing Center in Georgia after their arrests, Shank said.
