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At least 475 workers detained in major Ice raid at US Hyundai factory
South Korea alarmed after hundreds of nationals arrested at Georgia work site making batteries for Hyundai and Kia cars
Hundreds of workers at a factory being built in Georgia to make car batteries for Hyundai and Kia electric vehicles were detained in a huge raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) on Thursday that stopped construction.
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 Georgia’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp.
About 475 workers were arrested, according to US immigration officials on Friday, the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which was created in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US in New York and Washington DC.
However, the Korea Economic Daily earlier had reported about 560 workers at the Hyundai facility and LG Energy Solution (LGES), had been detained, citing unidentified industry sources. About 300 are South Korean nationals, according to local media reports. Hyundai Motor is a South Korean automotive company but has many international plants.
The raid on Thursday has dealt a setback to the company’s substantial project in Georgia and was a dramatic iteration of the Trump administration’s harsh crackdown on immigrants in the US.
It also showed the disruptive impact that Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda is having on businesses, even as the White House tries to spur more inflows from foreign investors.
South Korea’s foreign ministry said that “many of our nationals” had been detained and expressed concern about the impact of the raid.
The battery production facility, a joint venture between South Korean battery maker LGES and Hyundai Motor, was due to start operations at the end of this year, according to LGES, to power electric vehicles.
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 as Trump was ramping up tariffs.
The Orange man-child playing with people's lives. Despicable. Unable to understand the basics about how to be HUMAN, let alone how to be PRESIDENT. The fact that he was reelected is an indictment of our society, period.
Loss of migrant workers having big impact on economy. In many cases they do the work no one else wants. I was shocked when I checked out the prices of hotel rooms recently. Cuts to the issue because hospitality is very labor intensive.
@Crash. “The fact that he was reelected is an indictment of our society, period. “. You cut right to the heart of our nations darkest moment. The country REELECTED HIM. The country voted for this. It’s not so much him as the folks who put him in a second time.
Above all, these migrant workers are human beings, and they are doing back breaking jobs that American workers don’t want. This goes to the farm workers, meat packing factory, home construction, and others. Wonder why your grocery, restaurants, and hotel expense are rising so fast?
South Korea's foreign minister is considering a trip to the U.S. to meet with the Trump administration after hundreds of South Korean nationals were arrested in Georgia this week at an electric vehicle battery plant.
"We are deeply concerned and feel a heavy sense of responsibility over the arrests of our nationals," Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said at an emergency meeting in Seoul.
He said South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called for all-out efforts to swiftly resolve the matter, "stressing that the rights and interests of South Korean nationals and the business operations of South Korean companies investing in the United States must not be infringed upon."
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 475 people, most of them South Korean nationals, in a raid Thursday at a massive electric vehicle battery plant under construction in Ellabell, Ga. The plant is a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution.
"This operation underscores our commitment to protecting jobs for Georgians and Americans," said Steven Schrank, special agent in charge of homeland security investigations for Georgia and Alabama, during a news conference announcing the operation. "We are sending a clear and unequivocal message that those who exploit our workforce, undermine our economy and violate federal laws will be held accountable."
He said it was not an operation where agents simply rounded up people and put them on buses, but the result of a months-long investigation. The workers, Schrank said, were either illegally present in the U.S. or working unlawfully.
The arrests add to tension with a key ally at a time when President Trump has been pushing for trade deals and more South Korean investment in the U.S. Hyundai also has an auto plant in Montgomery, Ala., and has announced plans to invest more than $5 billion in a steel plant in Louisiana.
"I would say that they were illegal aliens, and ICE was just doing its job," Trump said when asked about the raid at the White House on Friday.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia says the raid raises questions about both the president's immigration strategy and how the firms were able to allegedly employ workers without proper documentation.
I'd like to hear more, much more about this alleged investigation. Sounds like more racist BS to me. What? Did they run out of all the criminals, drug dealers and rapists they haven't been able to find? I hate this whole business with every ounce of my being.
So, were the individuals here on work visa's perhaps? Were any of the plant managers, bosses, supervisors arrested as well. What about the HR department people? Where are they.
Can't wait to hear.
Edit to add: SENATOR REVEREND WARNOCK STATEMENT ON BRYAN COUNTY IMMIGRATION RAID
"Following this raid, we need answers. The Trump administration owes Georgia and the country an explanation as to how this raid, which separated children from working parents, advances the President's stated immigration priority of removing dangerous and violent criminals from our streets. And the companies involved must explain how so many workers were allegedly employed with improper documentation. Companies should not be able to get rich in Georgia by exploiting immigrant workers and putting them at risk of politically motivated raids and violations of due process. It's bad for our economy, bad for Georgia's workers, and bad for law-abiding Georgia families living in fear of this administration."
@Mark This NYT article seems to answer your questions with a yes and, then again, no. It may be a product of our outdated immigration policies and procedures that don't adequately accommodate foreign investment in factories and jobs inside the US. My comment related to the strategic importance of South Korea and, also, my own personal opinion that South Korea would work with the US to correct objectional business practices inside the US. We are still, so far as I know, intertwined.
A thought: Putin has in his possession huge piles of kompromat on the Orange weasel. This is a sideswipe, indirect sabotage job on the US/S.Korea alliance. Putin wants to dismember any beneficial political and military arrangements which rival his own Mafia Don authority.
OK, so it's likely that the South Koreans knew damned well what was going on. And the Feds tipped to it months ago. So the intelligent diplomatic response is to get ahold of the SK gov't people, say "hey, this isn't very cool- can you please take care of this so that we don't have to make a fuss?
But no, stupid ass hasn't a clue about diplomacy. He's gonna do a heavy-handed John Wayne, to prove that he's a big macho asshole, pissing off the very people that he's trying to con into spending great amounts of their money building things here.
I've known smarter children.
I apologize for the language- That jerk simply brings out the worst in me.
a. the late august visit by the s.korean president to the whitehouse did not yield sufficient planes\bribes\gold toilets for the trump crime family.
b. when the gop has to choose between trump and damage to local jobs\economy\healthcare, they may sputter but support what they always support. all they require is to be able to parrot some\any rightwing spin on how this was a great move.
how dare these companies staff their massive american investments with those willing and capable of making them run productively.
Comments
At least 475 workers detained in major Ice raid at US Hyundai factory
South Korea alarmed after hundreds of nationals arrested at Georgia work site making batteries for Hyundai and Kia cars
I'd like to hear more, much more about this alleged investigation. Sounds like more racist BS to me. What? Did they run out of all the criminals, drug dealers and rapists they haven't been able to find? I hate this whole business with every ounce of my being.
So, were the individuals here on work visa's perhaps? Were any of the plant managers, bosses, supervisors arrested as well. What about the HR department people? Where are they.
Can't wait to hear.
Edit to add:
SENATOR REVEREND WARNOCK STATEMENT ON BRYAN COUNTY IMMIGRATION RAID
"Following this raid, we need answers. The Trump administration owes Georgia and the country an explanation as to how this raid, which separated children from working parents, advances the President's stated immigration priority of removing dangerous and violent criminals from our streets. And the companies involved must explain how so many workers were allegedly employed with improper documentation. Companies should not be able to get rich in Georgia by exploiting immigrant workers and putting them at risk of politically motivated raids and violations of due process. It's bad for our economy, bad for Georgia's workers, and bad for law-abiding Georgia families living in fear of this administration."
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I hope this thing is viewable for you all:
South Koreans Are Swept Up in Immigration Raid at Hyundai Plant in Georgia
Putin has in his possession huge piles of kompromat on the Orange weasel. This is a sideswipe, indirect sabotage job on the US/S.Korea alliance. Putin wants to dismember any beneficial political and military arrangements which rival his own Mafia Don authority.
Also, this is the very reason why Orange Weasel hosted a War Crimes felon and offered him the red carpet, in Alaska.
https://icon2.cleanpng.com/20180629/krl/kisspng-otter-computer-icons-clip-art-weasel-5b36c495c7bfb6.1339408415303159258182.jpg
But no, stupid ass hasn't a clue about diplomacy. He's gonna do a heavy-handed John Wayne, to prove that he's a big macho asshole, pissing off the very people that he's trying to con into spending great amounts of their money building things here.
I've known smarter children.
I apologize for the language- That jerk simply brings out the worst in me.
Lets wait and see what happens with the TSMC plant being built in Phoenix. https://publiclawlibrary.org/major-class-action-lawsuit-accuses-tsmc-of-racial-discrimination-and-unsafe-conditions-at-phoenix-plant/
a. the late august visit by the s.korean president to the whitehouse did not yield sufficient planes\bribes\gold toilets for the trump crime family.
b. when the gop has to choose between trump and damage to local jobs\economy\healthcare, they may sputter but support what they always support. all they require is to be able to parrot some\any rightwing spin on how this was a great move.
how dare these companies staff their massive american investments with those willing and capable of making them run productively.
Are these the ones that are “eating the dogs… eating the cats” ?