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yesterday

Over 300 South Korean Workers Fly Home After Georgia ICE Raid

The episode exposed long‑standing visa gaps for Korean technicians, prompting a bilateral review of potential new pathways.

Detainees are made to stand against a bus before being handcuffed, during a raid by federal agents where about 300 South Koreans were among 475 people arrested at the site of a $4.3 billion project by Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution to build batteries for electric cars in Ellabell, Georgia, U.S., September 4, 2025 in a still image taken from a video. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Handout via REUTERS /File Photo
A South Korean worker who was detained in a huge immigration raid last week at the site of a U.S. car battery project involving Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution in the U.S. state of Georgia, hugs a family member in the long term parking lot at the Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, September 12, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Soo-hyeon
Activists holding signs that reads "No one is illegal!", chant slogans during a press conference to protest against a huge immigration raid last week at the site of a U.S. car battery project involving Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution in the U.S. state of Georgia, in front of the U.S. embassy in Seoul, South Korea, September 9, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
South Korean holds up image of President Donald Trump as workers detained in Georgia immigration raid land at Seoul airport

Overview

  • A chartered Korean Air flight carried 316 South Koreans and 14 other foreign employees from Atlanta to Seoul as voluntary departures, with one Korean electing to remain in the United States.
  • Negotiations followed public anger over ICE footage showing shackling; repatriation proceeded without restraints after a brief pause when President Trump asked whether workers should stay to continue training.
  • Seoul says Washington agreed to launch a working group on visa rules, with Marco Rubio pledging to actively review a new category and assurances that detainees will not face reentry disadvantages.
  • ICE maintains many detainees were working illegally on B‑1 visas or visa‑waiver entries, and roughly 145 non‑Korean workers remain in U.S. custody as their cases continue.
  • Hyundai says the Georgia battery project now faces a two‑ to three‑month startup delay, while President Lee warned the crackdown could deter future South Korean investment in the United States.