South Korea Sends Plane to Retrieve Nationals Detained in Georgia

A chartered flight is scheduled to depart South Korea on Wednesday to take back hundreds of its nationals who were detained in a mass immigration raid at a Hyundai battery plant construction site in Ellabell, Georgia. Approximately 300 South Koreans were part of the 475 people arrested in the operation that involved Homeland Security Investigations, ICE and numerous federal partners.

While many are preparing to travel back home, some of the detainees have indicated they would like to remain in the U.S. and fight the charges, which their attorneys are calling baseless. The incident has raised tensions between Seoul and Washington, two trusted allies that have enjoyed amicable relations with the U.S., especially in light of growing South Korean investments in U.S. manufacturing and a shift in the global supply chain.

Dissolution of Diplomatic Relations and Visa Challenges

This immigration raid coincides with South Korea expanding its economic presence in the U.S. However, this highly publicized raid has brought to light the challenges that foreign companies face in building in the U.S. under the current visa policy. Former President Donald Trump had encouraged foreign companies to build in the U.S., but Korean firms claim that the visa process has not kept up with labor demands.

Three Japanese nationals were also included among the detainees, as well as workers from Guatemala, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, Chile and Ecuador, according to immigrant advocacy group, Migrant Equity Southeast. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressed “deep sense of responsibility,” noting that the extent of the sudden arrests was shocking and should absolutely never happen again. Seoul is working closely with its U.S. counterparts on voluntary departure arrangements for citizens. A Korean Air charter plane is scheduled to arrive in Atlanta the same day it departs South Korea due to the time zone changes. The Foreign Ministry of South Korea said it is doing everything in its power to facilitate the citizens’ departure in a timely manner and to avoid similar visa problems in the future.

Even before the raid, officials expressed concerns regarding the need for short-term visas to support manufacturing growth to U.S. legislators and federal agencies. “Those visas would have been important for Korean professionals involved in initial work and training,” the ministry said.

Lawfare and System Failure

Sarah Park, the president of the Korean American Coalition, defended the workers asserting that the Hyundai-LG plant required special Korean workers’ contracted and technicians that did not receive the correct visas. “It was not about any misconduct,” Park stated. “It was about a system that did not align policy with economic realities.”

U.S. agents contend that the raid occurred after a several-month long criminal investigation related to unauthorized labor. Hyundai stated in a news release that none of the detainees were employees of the company. Of the detained workers, LG Energy Solution confirmed 47 of its employees and approximately 250 partner workers were detained. Hyundai has since decided to stop its U.S. business travel and is looking to issue the right visas to all affected workers.

Attorney Charles Kuck said he represented two South Korean detainees who arrived as part of the Visa Waiver Program. They were allegedly initially detained without an understanding of boarding a repatriation flight. Kuck stated voluntary departure would imply guilt. “We want to get them out with no permanent record so they could return legally in the future,” Kuck stated to NBC News.

He now also is helping to represent three more workers that came on B-1 visas which allow similarly situated individuals to conduct business activities. “They were doing exactly what the B-1 visa allows an individual to do,” Kuck stated. “This is no different from an American individual flying to Germany for meetings or temporary installation work.”

Mr. Kuck stated his clients were engaged in after-sales service and installation of work, as that is a permitted activity of the visa. He criticized Homeland Security Investigations for the “mass arrest” and not vetting the documentation of each worker. “It appears they just arrested everyone and formed their plans afterward.”