475 arrested at Georgia Hyundai site - the biggest single-site operation in Homeland Security Investigations history

https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/05/us/georgia-plant-ice-raid-hundreds-
arrested-hnk

A multi-agency immigration raid at the Hyundai Metaplant site in Georgia 
led to the apprehension of 475 people, a Homeland Security Investigations 
official said Friday.

The majority are Korean nationals, said Steven Schrank, special agent in 
charge of HSI in Alabama and Georgia. He said no charges have been filed.

The raid marks the largest single-site enforcement operation in HSI 
history, he said, though a host of other federal agencies were also 
involved.

Previously, federal officials estimated 450 people were apprehended at the 
massive site in Ellabell, about 25 miles west of Savannah, Georgia. The 
operation marks one of the latest examples of the Trump administration’s 
immigration crackdown at workplaces across the country.

All 475 people taken into custody were illegally present in the US, 
Schrank said. He said some had overstayed their visas.

The sprawling, 2,900-acre Metaplant has two parts: a Hyundai electric 
vehicle manufacturing site, and an EV battery plant that’s a joint venture 
between Hyundai and LG.

The raid halted construction of the EV battery plant, the Associated Press 
reported. The facility has been touted by Georgia’s governor as the 
largest economic development site in the state’s history, the AP said.

Hyundai is cooperating with law enforcement and is “committed to abiding 
by all labor and immigration regulations,” spokesperson Michael Stewart 
said.

The same day, hundreds of miles away in upstate New York, dozens of 
workers at a family-owned plant that makes nutrition bars were also 
apprehended during an ICE raid, officials said, drawing the ire of Gov. 
Kathy Hochul.

The raids come as Chicago leaders are preparing for a possible National 
Guard deployment in step with an expected immigration enforcement 
operation in the city.

GOP governor promoted the Metaplant
At the Georgia site, masked and armed agents gave orders to construction 
workers wearing hard hats and safety vests as they lined up while officers 
raided the facility, video footage obtained by CNN showed.

ICE and Homeland Security Investigations were accompanied by the Georgia 
State Patrol, the FBI, DEA, ATF and other agencies in executing a search 
warrant as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into “allegations of 
unlawful employment practices and other serious federal crimes,” the 
Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. “Together, we are 
sending a clear and unequivocal message: those who exploit our workforce, 
undermine our economy, and violate federal laws will be held accountable.”

ATF Atlanta said the operation led “to the apprehension of ~450 unlawful 
aliens, emphasizing our commitment to community safety.”

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has touted the Hyundai Metaplant as a boon for 
the Georgia economy.

In 2022, Hyundai announced an agreement with the state of Georgia to build 
Hyundai’s “first dedicated fully electrified vehicle and battery 
manufacturing facilities in the United States” in Bryan County, the 
company said.

The Metaplant was expected to create 8,500 jobs.

“With the first 500 employees trained, and more soon to join them, this is 
another major milestone as we continue our momentum towards the full 
opening of the Hyundai Metaplant!” Kemp posted on social media last year.

CNN has asked Kemp’s office for comment about Thursday’s immigration raid 
at the Metaplant.

Dozens apprehended in New York raid
In New York Thursday morning, federal agents arrived at the Nutrition Bar 
Confectioners plant in Cato and questioned “virtually the entire 
workforce,” according to Rural & Migrant Ministry, whose staff witnessed 
the raid.

The group posted a video on its Facebook page showing law enforcement 
leading people into a van marked “Border Patrol.” During the raid workers 
were taken into the kitchen area of the plant and “questioned one by one 
over the course of many hours,” the group said in the post.

The group estimates that “upwards of 70 employees” were questioned and 
“nearly all” were then arrested and taken to the nearby Oswego Detention 
Center. A spokesperson for the group told CNN they’re still waiting to 
hear from authorities about exactly how many were detained.

Hochul condemned the ICE operation in her state.

“I am outraged by this morning’s ICE raids in Cato and Fulton, where more 
than 40 adults were seized — including parents of at least a dozen 
children at risk of returning from school to an empty house,” Hochul said 
in a statement.

Hochul said such operations “will not make New York safer” and will 
“shatter hard-working families who are simply trying to build a life 
here.”

ICE confirmed to CNN affiliate WSTM that it carried out a “court-
authorized enforcement action” in Cato. Employees told WSTM that around 60 
workers were detained. CNN has reached out to the agency for further 
details.

Mark Schmidt, the owner of Nutrition Bar Confectioners, told the New York 
Times that all his workers had legal documentation to work in the US. 
“We’ve done everything we can to vet people we hire,” he said.

Schmidt described the ICE raid as “overkill.” His son Lenny Schmidt, the 
company’s vice president, told the Times the scene was “almost 
theatrical,” describing police dogs and all-terrain vehicles involved in 
the operation.

“It could have been handled so much more humanely and decently,” he said. 
“This kind of raid, you feel like it’s a drug bust or a human trafficking 
situation.”

CNN has reached out to the company for further comment.


-- 
November 5, 2024 - Congratulations President Donald Trump.  We look 
forward to America being great again.

We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that 
stupid people won't be offended.

Every day is an IQ test. Some pass, some, not so much.

Thank you for cleaning up the disasters of the 2008-2017, 2020-2024 Obama 
/ Biden / Harris fiascos, President Trump.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the 
The World According To Garp.  Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood 
queer liberal democrat donors.