South Korean workers deported after Georgia Hyundai plant raid return to work with new visas

Source: The Independent

Thursday 13 November 2025 13:01 EST


Dozens of workers who were deported back to South Korea after being arrested during an ICE raid on a Hyundai factory in Georgia have returned to the plant after having their visas reissued, according to reports.

Around 30 employees have begun work again at the battery plant, owned by Hyundai and LG Energy, after being picked up in early September in what Homeland Security described as its largest ever raid.

However, the incident, during which over 300 South Korean workers were arrested, triggered outrage from the country’s officials, who expressed “concern and regret” over the operation. A search warrant seen by The Independent showed that agents were in fact only seeking the arrests of four workers at the facility, who were all Latino.

Around 180 people who had been working in the U.S. on B-1 business visas have now had them restored, lawyers for the workers confirmed to The New York Times.

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/hyundai-plant-raid-deportation-georgia-south-korea-b2864790.html