South Korean workers challenging Trump administration over Georgia raid, report says

Detainees are made to stand against a bus before being handcuffed, during a raid on Sept 4, 2025, at a Hyundai EV manufacturing plant in Ellabell, Georgia, US.

WASHINGTON - More than 300 South Korean workers who were detained in the 2025 immigration raid at a Hyundai electric-vehicle manufacturing plant in Georgia are challenging the US government, CNN reported on Sept 15.

Hundreds of workers, most of whom are South Korean nationals, were arrested in a raid at a Hyundai Motor plant by the US authorities in September 2025.

Administrative claims on behalf of the workers, a mandatory step before a federal lawsuit, have started to be filed with nine federal agencies, the CNN report said citing a lawyer representing the claimants.

The Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, the FBI and the Departments of Justice and Labour were among the agencies, it added.

“ICE Homeland Security Investigations, in coordination with our law enforcement partners, executed a judicial search warrant as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into allegations of unlawful employment practices and other serious federal crimes,” a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told Reuters on Sept 15.

“This investigation is focused on ensuring accountability for those who violate the law and upholding the rule of law,” added the spokesperson, who did not comment directly on the reported challenge.

Hyundai did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

The raid targeting the Georgia plant, operated through a joint venture between Hyundai and South Korea’s LG Energy Solution was described as the largest single-site enforcement operation in the US Department of Homeland Security’s history.

The video and photos of workers shackled at the wrists, waist and ankles sent shockwaves through South Korea, a key Asian ally of the United States.

Workers’ phones were confiscated, and some were unable to inform their families back home until their eventual release. REUTERS