Hundreds of workers detained in major Ice raid at US Hyundai EV battery factory being set up in Ellabell, Georgia, on Thursday September 4

475 people were arrested at factory manufacturing batteries for Hyundai and Kia vehicles

Multiple federal agencies, including ICE, FBI and the DEA “conducted a judicially authorized enforcement operation, as we are actively conducting an investigation into unlawful employment practices” – Steven Schrank, DHS Special Agent in charge

$4.3bn plant is a joint venture between South Korean Auto giant, Hyundai motor and battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution, part of Hyundai’s $12.6bn investments in Georgia

300 of detainees identified as South Korean nationals by South Korean media who announced a higher figure of 560 people detained

South Korea’s foreign ministry said that “many of our nationals” had been detained and expressed concern about the impact of the raid

South Korea has expressed is concern after 475 workers were arrested at a factory under construction to manufacture batteries for Hyundai and Kia cars in Ellabell, Georgia on Thursday Sept. 4. 300 of the detainees are Korean nationals

Hundreds of workers at a factory being built in in Ellabell, Georgia, to manufacture car batteries for Hyundai and Kia electric vehicles were detained in a huge raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE], on Thursday September 4, that stopped construction at the $4.3bn facility.
The facility is part of what would be the biggest industrial investment in the state’s history and had been hailed as a huge boost for the economy by Governor Brian Kemp, a Republican.
Social media video footage showed officers from several federal agencies shepherding workers in yellow safety vests after informing them : “We have a search warrant for the whole site. We need construction to cease immediately. We need all work to end on the site right now.”
At least 475 people were arrested, according to the Atlanta office of the ATF. At a press conference on Friday, an official with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said that a majority of the 475 people arrested were Korean nationals.
They detainees for now are being held at a facility in Folkston, Georgia, until the agency decides their next destination.

The factory set up in Ellabell, Georgia, to manufactures car batteries for Hyundai and Kia electric vehicles is owned by South Korean auto giant, Hyundai Motors. Thursday’s raid, a setback to the company’s substantial investment in Georgia, is seen as a dramatic iteration of the Trump administration’s bullish crackdown on immigrants

The battery factory is a joint venture between South Korean automotive company Hyundai Motor and another South Korean manufacturing giant, LG Energy Solutions [LGES].
Announcing higher figures., the Korea Economic Daily later reported about 560 workers at the Hyundai facility and LG Energy Solution, [LGES], had been detained, identifying 300 of the workers arrested as South Korean nationals.
Hyundai has several international manufacturing facilities, but Thursday’s raid appears to have dealt a setback to the company’s substantial investments in the US.
Observers say this a dramatic iteration of the Trump administration’s bullish crackdown on immigration with latent impact on inflow of foreign investment.
A government official representing South Korea, the home of Hyundai Motor, said those arrested were being held at an Ice detention facility.
South Korea’s foreign ministry said that “many of our nationals” had been detained and expressed concern about the impact of the raid.
“The economic activities of our companies investing in the United States and the interests of our citizens must not be unduly violated during the course of US law enforcement,” a ministry spokesperson, Lee Jae-woong, said in a statement on Friday.

Multiple federal agencies, including ICE, FBI and the DEA “conducted a judicially authorized enforcement operation, as we are actively conducting an investigation into unlawful employment practices” – Steven Schrank, Special Agent in charge of DHS Investigations for Georgia

An agent at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said multiple federal agencies, including Ice, the FBI and the DEA “conducted a judicially authorized enforcement operation, as we are actively conducting an investigation into unlawful employment practices”.
“Arrests are being made,” Steven Schrank, the special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations for Georgia, said in a news briefing.
The battery production facility, was due to start operations at the end of this year, according to LGES, to power electric vehicles.
In 2023, Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution announced the $4.3bn venture to produce EV battery cells, with each company holding a 50% stake in the plant which will supply batteries for Hyundai and Kia vehicles.
Hyundai-GA battery company announcing it’s full cooperation, said construction work is paused. Partner’s
Hyundai Motor said its production of electric vehicles at the sprawling site was not affected.
The battery factory is part of Hyundai’s $12.6bn investments in Georgia, including the automaker’s just-opened car factory, in what would be “the largest economic development project in the state’s history” and is part of a bigger investment in US industry by the South Korean company, announced in March amidst wide ranging ramping up on tariffs by the Trump administration.