ATLANTA — A plane carrying more than 300 workers from South Korea who were detained during an immigration raid at a battery factory in Georgia last week left Atlanta shortly before noon Thursday, bound for South Korea.
The workers traveled by bus from a detention center in southeast Georgia to Atlanta earlier in the day for their flight, which is expected to land in South Korea on Friday afternoon.
Ultimately, one South Korean national who has relatives in the U.S. chose to stay, Lee said.
The detention of South Korean nationals also made the raid unusual as they are not often caught up in immigration enforcement actions.
Video released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Saturday showed a caravan of vehicles driving up to the site and then federal agents directing workers to line up outside.
ATLANTA — Just before noon Thursday, an aircraft en route to South Korea took off from Atlanta, transporting over 300 South Korean laborers who were arrested during an immigration raid at a battery factory in Georgia last week.
In preparation for their flight, which is scheduled to arrive in South Korea on Friday afternoon, the workers took a bus earlier in the day from a detention facility in southeast Georgia to Atlanta. According to South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, the prisoners freed by the U.S. S. Ten Chinese, three Japanese, one Indonesian, and 316 Koreans were among the authorities.
In the raid last week at the battery factory under construction on the campus of Hyundai’s expansive auto plant west of Savannah, the workers were among approximately 475 individuals who were taken into custody. An immigration detention facility in Folkston, 285 miles (460 kilometers) southeast of Atlanta, had housed them.
On Thursday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called for changes to the U.S. visa system, stating that Korean businesses would probably be hesitant to invest in the U.S. S. . till that time comes.
During a press conference, Lee stated that Korean and U.S. S. . During their bus ride to Atlanta, officials debated whether the detainees needed to be handcuffed, something the Koreans “strongly opposed.”. There was also discussion, he said, about whether they would be deported or departing under “voluntary departure.”.
While those conversations were going on, U. S. Authorities began returning the detainees’ possessions. Lee stated that “everything suddenly halted” after that, but they were informed that this was because of directives from the White House.
“Those who didn’t want to go didn’t have to,” he said, adding that President Trump had ordered that the detainees be free to return home. We were informed that the administrative procedures were modified and the process was halted as a result of that instruction. “.
Trump had stopped the process to hear from South Korea on whether the Koreans should be permitted to stay to continue their work and assist in training the U.S., according to a South Korean Foreign Ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the diplomatic process. S. . ought to be returned to South Korea as workers.
“The U,” Lee said. A. allowed the detainees to choose between remaining and returning home. Finally, one South Korean citizen with family in the United States. S. . decided to remain, Lee said.
A number of workplace raids have been part of the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda, but this one was notable for its size and the fact that it targeted a manufacturing facility that Georgia officials have hailed as the state’s largest economic development project. Hyundai Motor Group started producing EVs at the $7.6 billion facility, which has 1,200 employees, a year ago.
Wednesday, in a statement, Gov. The office of Brian Kemp emphasized the “strong relationship that Georgia has with the Republic of Korea and Korean partners like Hyundai, dating back 40 years to the founding of Georgia’s trade office in Seoul.”. “..”.
According to a spokesperson, “We are grateful that they are reaffirming their commitment to follow all state and federal laws, just as we remain committed to not letting this regrettable incident undo the decades of mutually beneficial partnerships we’ve shared.”.
Since South Koreans are rarely involved in immigration enforcement operations, their detention further made the raid unique.
The video was released by U. S. . On Saturday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement showed a convoy of cars approaching the location before federal officers told employees to form a line outside. After being frisked and having their hands, ankles, and waists shackled, some inmates were told to place their hands up against a bus. While boarding an inmate-transfer bus in Georgia, others were wearing plastic ties around their wrists.
