USA: Almost 500 migrant workers, mostly from South Korea, detained by ICE at Hyundai & LG Energy Solution EV plant where workers also allege unsafe working conditions
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In September 2025, several media outlets reported that almost 500 migrant workers, mostly from South Korea, were detained by ICE officials at the construction site of an electric vehicle manufacturing plant co-owned by Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution in Georgia.
US officials call the raid the ‘largest-ever’ Homeland Security enforcement operation at a single location.
Reporting by The New York Times highlights that South Korean companies have invested “hundreds of billions” of dollars in the USA in recent years, drawn partly by US government policies incentivising EV and semiconductor manufacturing.
The New York Times and The Guardian also highlight allegations of labour rights abuses at the plant, including unsafe working conditions and three worker deaths.
Many of the detained workers were employed by subcontractors, although 47 of the workers were LG Energy Solution employees helping to oversee the plant’s construction. While most of the workers were undocumented, some US citizens and lawful permanent residents were also detained.
South Korean government officials have expressed alarm over the raid, and have secured the release of the Korean workers, who will be returned to South Korea.
The economic activities of our investment companies and the rights and interests of our citizens must not be unjustly violated during U.S. law enforcement proceedings.Spokesman for South Korean Foreign Ministry
Hyundai and LG Energy Solution officials said to journalists that the safety of their workers was critical and have announced inquiries into the raid.
In October, the Wall Street Journal published an article outlining past safety violations in more detail, including the death of a worker employed by contractor Eastern Constructors at the plant in April 2023, and the injury of a worker employed by contractor Sungwon Georgia at the plant in 2024. Neither company responded to the Wall Street Journal's request for comment.
Allegations of other labor rights violations also surfaced as former migrant workers, including a worker from Colombia, who worked at the Hyundai megasite were awarded $43,000 in a lawsuit settlement against subcontractor Sys-Con for wage theft. The workers described the allegedly abusive conditions they endured, including discrimination, intimidation, and violence.
It was really hard. They treated us very differently. They talked to us like we were in the Army. They were calling us names, oftentimes ‘undocumented’ and they made us work really hard.Jonathon Rincon, a former migrant worker at Hyundai megasite