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US authorities have arrested 450 workers at an electric-car battery factory being built by two of South Korea’s biggest companies, as part of the Trump administration’s deepening crackdown on illegal immigration.
The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday night said several agencies including the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement had “conducted a judicially authorised enforcement operation” on the construction site of a joint venture between Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution as part of an “investigation into unlawful employment practices”.
“Arrests are being made,” Steven Schrank, a special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia, said.
Multiple South Korean nationals were detained, according to the foreign ministry in Seoul. People close to the situation said they included LGES employees on a business trip from Seoul.
The raid represents a setback for the biggest foreign investment in Georgia, where Hyundai has been making electric vehicles since October in addition to building a battery plant with LGES. The South Korean companies suspended construction after the raid.
“Our companies’ economic activities and our people’s rights should not be infringed unfairly in the US legal enforcement process,” said Lee Jae-woong, a spokesperson for South Korea’s foreign ministry, on Friday.
The raid comes amid growing tensions between Seoul and Washington over the details of $350bn investments that South Korean companies have pledged to make in the US as part of a trade deal struck in July.
The battery plant under construction is scheduled to begin operations at the end of this year, said LGES.
“We are closely co-operating with the South Korean government and relevant authorities to ensure the safety of our employees and staff at contractors and to secure their swift release from detention,” the company added.
Hyundai said the raid had not affected EV production at its separate Georgia factory. The joint venture between the two companies said it was “co-operating fully with the appropriate authorities regarding activity at our construction site”.
LGES shares fell more than 2 per cent on Friday, while Hyundai shares closed down 0.7 per cent, underperforming the Kospi benchmark, which inched up.
The $4.3bn joint venture to produce EV batteries for Hyundai and affiliate Kia was announced in 2023 and is part of the carmaker’s $12.6bn investment in Georgia.
US President Donald Trump has vowed to crack down on illegal immigration and deport “the worst of the worst” criminals, though official data has shown a high number of people with no prior convictions being arrested in raids that have targeted work sites such as farms, restaurants and hotels.
Since Trump took office in late January, ICE arrests have soared to record levels, with nearly 60,000 people in detention, according to agency figures.
