A South Korean employee at a massive car manufacturing site in Georgia has spoken to the BBC about the fear and confusion that swept through the facility as U.S. immigration authorities carried out the largest single-site enforcement operation in Homeland Security history.
The man, who requested anonymity, was inside the Hyundai–LG Energy Solution complex in Ellabell when agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) moved in on Thursday morning. By the end of the operation, 475 people had been detained—around 300 of them South Korean nationals—some of whom were led away in shackles.
Phones left ringing as raid unfolded
He recalled the first sign of trouble came in a wave of urgent phone calls from company managers. “Multiple lines were ringing, telling us to shut down operations,” he said. Workers soon realized ICE agents had surrounded the $7.6bn factory complex, located about 30 minutes from Savannah.
Families frantically tried to reach loved ones, but many phones had been left behind. “They were detained and their cell phones were locked in the office. Calls kept coming through but no one could answer,” he said.
Officials said some workers attempted to flee the site, with several even leaping into a nearby sewage pond before being rounded up.
Largest operation of its kind
Roughly 400 federal and state agents were deployed for what officials later dubbed Operation Low Voltage. Workers were divided by nationality and visa status, processed, and loaded onto buses.
The factory, sprawling over 3,000 acres, opened last year and produces electric vehicles. Federal authorities had been probing suspected violations at an associated battery plant still under construction.
Steven Schrank, the ICE officer overseeing the raid, later said that all 475 detainees were “illegally present in the United States,” describing a mix of expired visas, prohibited work permits, and illegal border entries.
Worker: “Shocked but not surprised”
Speaking in nearby Savannah, the South Korean worker said he was stunned by the scale but not the fact of the raid. “Most of those taken were mechanics installing production lines for a contractor. Some were here from Seoul for training,” he said, though the BBC has not independently verified that claim.
He suggested that many of the detained workers had legal grounds to be in the U.S. but were on visas that did not allow employment, or had overstayed permitted time. “America first has always been the message. If you’re working here legally, there’s no problem. But companies have been cutting corners because visas take so long. That may now change.”
Corporate and political fallout
In a joint statement, Hyundai and LG Energy Solution confirmed they had paused construction and were “cooperating fully with the authorities.” Hyundai emphasized that none of those detained were directly employed by the company.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has previously championed the project as the largest economic investment in state history. The plant has also fueled the growth of Savannah’s Korean American community, where local leaders said the arrests came as a shock.
Ruby Gould, president of the Korean American Association of Greater Savannah, said the raid risked tarnishing the reputation of both the factory and U.S.–South Korean ties. “It’s very shocking to me—and to see this happen at such a high-profile global company is hard,” she said.
Aftermath
ICE released dramatic footage of the raid, including workers lined up inside the facility and others trying to flee into water before being detained. Over the weekend, the BBC observed little sign of the operation, though private security teams patrolled the perimeter.
For now, hundreds of skilled workers remain in federal custody, and questions continue about how the raid will affect one of the largest industrial projects in the United States.
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