Federal agents arrested about 475 people at the HL-GA Battery Company construction site on the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America campus. This was the end of a months-long criminal investigation into claims of illegal hiring at the huge EV complex west of Savannah. According to officials, Homeland Security Investigations is calling the action, which took place on Thursday and was explained in full by prosecutors on Friday, the largest single-site enforcement operation in the agency’s history.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia says that agents carried out a federal search warrant looking for proof of violations of 8 U.S.C. Section 1324, which deals with “unlawful employment of illegal aliens.” When the order was served, prosecutors said that some people tried to run away. Some of them even jumped into a sewage pond on the property, where agents had to get them back by boat. They also found “over 475 people” operating illegally on the site. The inquiry is still going on, and everyone is innocent unless proven guilty.
Steven Schrank, the head of HSI in Georgia, in a press conference said that the operation was not an immigration round-up but rather the result of a criminal investigation. He also added that many of the people who were arrested worked for a network of contractors and subcontractors connected to the project. He stated that most of the people who were arrested were South Korean citizens. Officials didn’t say right away how many of them may be charged with a crime or face immigration proceedings.
Abigail Jackson, a spokesperson for the White House, said that President Donald Trump “will continue to keep his promise to make the United States the best place in the world to do business while also enforcing federal immigration laws.” She also stressed that any foreign workers brought in for specific projects “must enter the United States legally and with proper work authorizations.” The statement made it clear that the administration was sending two messages: one was to welcome investment and the other was to require rigorous compliance with employment standards.
Hyundai stated it is keeping a careful eye on things and that, to its knowledge, none of the people who were arrested worked directly for Hyundai Motor Company. The car company said it is looking over its procedures to make sure that contractors and subcontractors “maintain the same high standards of legal compliance” that are expected on all of the company’s projects. It also put leaders in charge of governance at the Georgia megasite while it works with the authorities. LG Energy Solution also said it would work closely with the people looking into the matter.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry said it was “concerned and regretted” that Korean investors’ commercial activities and the rights of its citizens “must not be unjustly infringed” during U.S. law enforcement measures. In response, Seoul announced it was sending ambassadors and forming up a task team on the ground in Georgia.
U.S. Attorney Margaret E. Heap said the search was “a significant undertaking with substantial results,” and that more than 400 agents took part. Prosecutors alleged that many agencies helped, including ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, the FBI, ATF, DEA, IRS-CI, the Department of Labor OIG, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Georgia State Patrol.
Officials claimed that the investigation will look into who hired the workers and how they got to the location. There have been no criminal charges made as of Friday. The prisoners are still in ICE custody as the investigation continues.
The HL-GA Battery Company building is next to Hyundai’s $7.6 billion electric vehicle plant, which state politicians have called Georgia’s biggest economic development project. During the procedure, work on the battery site stopped.
(With inputs from agencies)
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