According to BBC, the South Korean government has expressed "concern and regret" over the raid and has urged the US to respect the rights of its citizens. The operation has been described as "the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of homeland security investigations," highlighting potential friction between President Trump's goals of boosting US manufacturing and stringent immigration enforcement. This development may also strain the US relationship with South Korea, a vital ally.
President Trump, when questioned in the Oval Office, stated, "They were illegal aliens and ICE was just doing its job," and emphasized the importance of maintaining a stable workforce while addressing illegal immigration. He attributed the presence of these workers to policies from the Biden administration, asserting that many had entered the country illegally.
Immigration officials reported that 475 individuals who were either in the US illegally or working unlawfully were detained and are currently held at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Folkston, Georgia. Of these, 300 are reportedly Korean nationals.
In response to the raid, Hyundai Motor Company released a statement expressing that the company is "closely monitoring the situation and working to understand the specific circumstances." The company clarified that none of the detained individuals are directly employed by Hyundai. Despite the raid, Hyundai's electric vehicle production remains unaffected, though its partner in the battery joint venture, South Korea's LG Energy Solutions, has halted construction work at the site.
The South Korean government has dispatched diplomats to the site in response and communicated with the US embassy in Seoul, urging caution in protecting the rights of Korean citizens. "The economic activities of Korean investment companies and the rights and interests of Korean citizens must not be unfairly infringed upon during US law enforcement operations," stated South Korea's foreign ministry.
This incident underscores President Trump's dual focus on attracting foreign investments to the US while imposing tariffs to encourage domestic manufacturing. South Korean companies have pledged substantial investments in US industries to circumvent tariffs, a move supported by Georgia's Governor, Republican Brian Kemp, who hailed Hyundai's new electric vehicle operation as the state's largest economic development project, employing 1,200 people.
President Trump's administration has intensified efforts to detain and deport individuals suspected of being in the US illegally, a policy that has primarily affected Latin American nationals but has also led to the arrest of people from other countries.