What to know about a large-scale immigration raid at a Georgia manufacturing plant

Hundreds of federal agents descended on a sprawling site where Hyundai manufactures electric vehicles in Georgia and detained people preponderance of them South Korean nationals This is the latest in a long line of workplace raids conducted as part of the Trump administration s mass deportation agenda But the one on Thursday is especially distinct because of its large size and the fact that it targeted a manufacturing site state agents have long called Georgia s largest economic advancement project The detainment of South Korean nationals also sets it apart as they are rarely caught up in immigration enforcement compared to other nationalities Video distributed by U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Saturday proved a caravan of vehicles driving up to the site and then federal agents directing workers to line up outside Certain detainees were ordered to put their hands up against a bus as they were frisked and then shackled around their hands ankles and waist Others had plastic ties around their wrists as they boarded a Georgia inmate-transfer bus Here are specific things to know about the raid and the people impacted The workers detained South Korea s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun mentioned Saturday that more than South Koreans were among the people detained Chosen of them worked for the battery plant operated by HL-GA Battery Co a joint venture by Hyundai and LG Force Answer that is slated to open next year while others were employed by contractors and subcontractors at the construction site according to Steven Schrank the lead Georgia agent of Homeland Safety Investigations He mentioned that various of the detained workers had illegally crossed the U S perimeter while others had entered the country legally but had expired visas or had entered on a visa waiver that prohibited them from working But an immigration attorney representing two of the detained workers reported his clients arrived from South Korea under a visa waiver venture that enables them to tour for tourism or business for stays of days or less without obtaining a visa Attorney Charles Kuck noted one of his clients has been in the U S for a couple of weeks while the other has been in the country for about days adding that they had been planning to return home soon The detainees also included a lawful permanent resident who was kept in custody for having a prior record involving firearm and drug offenses since committing a crime of moral turpitude can put their status in jeopardy Lindsay Williams a citizens affairs officer for U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Saturday Williams denied reports that U S citizens had been detained at the site since once citizens have identified themselves we have no authority Hyundai Motor Company noted in a comment Friday that none of its employees had been detained as far as it knew and that it is reviewing its practices to make sure suppliers and subcontractors follow U S employment laws LG explained The Associated Press that it couldn t forthwith confirm how several of its employees or Hyundai workers had been detained The South Korean regime expressed concern and regret over the operation targeting its citizens and is sending diplomats to the site The business pursuits of our investors and the rights of our nationals must not be unjustly infringed in the process of U S law enforcement South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lee Jaewoong noted in a televised declaration from Seoul Most of of the people detained have been taken to an immigration detention center in Folkston Georgia near the Florida state line None of them have been charged with any crimes yet Schrank explained but the inspection is ongoing Family members and friends of the detainees were having a hard time locating them or figuring out how to get in touch with them James Woo communications director for the advocacy group Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta commented Saturday in an email Woo added that plenty of of the families were in South Korea because a large number of of the detainees were in the United States only for business purposes Raid is the effect of a monthslong probe The raid was the aftermath of a monthslong study into claims of illegal hiring at the site Schrank noted In a search warrant and related affidavits agents sought everything from employment records for current and former workers and timecards to video and photos of workers Court records filed this week indicated that prosecutors do not know who hired what it called hundreds of illegal aliens The identity of the actual company or contractor hiring the illegal aliens is at this moment unknown the U S Attorney s Office wrote in a Thursday court filing The sprawling manufacturing site The raid targeted a manufacturing site widely considered one of Georgia s largest and most of high profile Hyundai Motor Group started manufacturing EVs at the billion plant a year ago Nowadays the site employs about people in a largely rural area about miles kilometers west of Savannah Agents specifically honed in on an adjacent plant that is still under construction at which Hyundai has partnered with LG Power Resolution to produce batteries that power EVs The Hyundai site is in Bryan County which saw its population increase by more than a quarter in the early s and stood at almost residents in the majority new year statistics is available The county s Asian population went from in to in and the progress was primarily among people of Indian descent according to Census Bureau figures Raid was the largest single site enforcement operation From farms and construction sites to restaurants and auto repair shops there have been a wide array of workplace raids undertaken in this administration But the bulk have been smaller including a raid the same day as the Georgia one in which federal officers took away dozens of workers from a snack-bar manufacturer in Cato New York Other modern high-profile raids have included one in July targeting a legal marijuana farm northwest of Los Angeles More than people were arrested in one of the largest raids since Trump took office in January Another one took place at an Omaha Nebraska meat production plant and involved dozens of workers being taken away Schrank described the one in Georgia as the largest single site enforcement operation in the agency s two-decade history The majority of the people detained are Koreans During the -month period that ended Sept only Koreans were deported during out of more than removals for all nationalities according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement Locality members and advocates have mixed reactions Kemp and other Georgia Republican leaders who had courted Hyundai and celebrated the EV plant s opening issued statements Friday saying all employers in the state were expected to follow the law The nonprofit legal advocacy organization Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta described the raid in a joint declaration as unacceptable Our communities know the workers targeted at Hyundai are everyday people who are trying to feed their families build stronger communities and work toward a better future the message revealed Sammie Rentz opened the Viet Huong Supermarket less than miles kilometers from the Hyundai site six months ago and reported he worries business may not bounce back after falling off sharply since the raid I m concerned Koreans are very proud people and I bet they re not appreciating what just happened I m worried about them cutting and running or starting an exit strategy he declared Ellabell resident Tanya Cox who lives less than a mile from the Hyundai site noted she had no ill feelings toward Korean nationals or other immigrant workers at the site But minimal neighbors were employed there and she felt like more construction jobs at the battery plant should have gone to local residents I don t see how it s brought a lot of jobs to our locality or nearby communities Cox mentioned AP reporter Mike Schneider in Orlando Florida contributed to this document