Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, IMMIGRATION NEWS—Fallout continues after ICE raid on Hyundai site in Georgia where electric vehicle battery plant is being built, (Sep 8, 2025)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

South Korea, whose citizens constituted the majority of workers detained, plans to bring them home this week.

Last week, approximately 475 workers at an electric battery plant under construction in Georgia as part of a Hyundai electric vehicle manufacturing complex were detained in an ICE raid. Of those, a majority appear to be South Korean citizens, at least some of whom were in the U.S. on short-term visas and many of whom were employed by contractors. HL-GA Battery Company, which is constructing the factory, stated that it is cooperating fully and that it has paused construction.

Operation Low Voltage. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that a search warrant had been executed. The investigation was named “Operation Low Voltage.”

United States Attorney Margaret E. Heap stated: “This was a significant undertaking with substantial results. Over 400 agents participated in this massive event, and over 400 illegal workers were identified and detained. The goal of this operation is to reduce illegal employment and prevent employers from gaining an unfair advantage by hiring unauthorized workers. Another goal is to protect unauthorized workers from exploitation.”

South Korea chartering flight. South Korea has announced that it is chartering a flight to bring the approximately 300 detained nationals home from the U.S. and that it has negotiated a voluntary departure for those who were arrested, stating that this is the “fastest path to their release.”

Hyundai has issued a statement regarding the raid, disclaiming that it directly employs any of the workers who were detained. It added: “Hyundai is committed to full compliance with all laws and regulations in every market where we operate. This includes employment verification requirements and immigration laws. We expect the same commitment from all our partners, suppliers, contractors, and subcontractors.”

“[H]ire and train American Workers.” Yesterday, President Trump responded to the widely reported news of the raid. “[W]e encourage you to LEGALLY bring your very smart people, with great technical talent, to build World Class products, and we will make it quickly and legally possible for you to do so,” Trump said in a social media post about to the raid, adding that foreign companies’ “investments are welcome” but that the administration asks in return that those companies “hire and train American Workers.”

UAW issued a statement yesterday condemning the working conditions at Hyundai and its “exploitation of immigrant labor to build its factories and supply chains.” However, it also ended its statement with what appears to be a mild criticism of the administration’s actions, stating: “The UAW will always stand with all workers—immigrant and native-born alike—against unsafe corporations and militarized attacks on our workplaces.”

Tensions. The statement exemplifies the labor tensions at play in the growing battery manufacturing sector in the United States, which is dominated by non-domestic producers. The New York Times reports on this issue, noting that manufacturers headquartered in Asia usually bring to the U.S. their own engineers and technicians from their home countries both because of concerns about intellectual property and because of the low margin for error. One issue is that, as denoted by the UAW statement, U.S. unions seek the same jobs.

On the other hand, the American Immigration Council claims, “Immigrant workers are the backbone of our economy, filling critical labor gaps in manufacturing and beyond.”

“Nationwide, 5.7% of manufacturing workers are undocumented, and here in Georgia they make up 6.7% of that workforce. Raiding worksites instead of fixing our pathways to legal employment is cruel, wasteful, and deeply shortsighted. The chilling effect of these raids will make it less likely that people will show up to work, deepening labor shortages and hitting businesses hard at an already precarious economic moment,” said Nan Wu, director of research at the American Immigration Council.

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