Overview

• ICE detained about 475 workers at the Ellabell battery site, mostly South Koreans, in what officials called DHS’s largest single-site enforcement action for visa violations.
• Roughly 300 South Korean specialist technicians were repatriated on a government-chartered flight after being held at a Georgia processing center.
• Hyundai says the battery-plant commissioning will slip at least two to three months and it will source batteries from other regional facilities to bridge the delay.
• President Trump said he wants some skilled Korean workers to remain to train Americans, but South Korean officials said only one chose to stay.
• The episode has triggered diplomatic talks and pressure for a tailored short-term visa pathway, with reports of paused Korean projects in the U.S. and Georgia lawmakers warning of investment fallout.