Chicago – September 05, 2025
Hundreds of federal officers carried out a large immigration raid at the Hyundai Metaplant in southeast Georgia, arresting 475 people. This raid is the largest in the current immigration crackdown by the Trump administration at U.S. worksites.
The raid took place at a huge plant in Ellabell, Georgia, about 25 miles from Savannah. Initially, officials reported 450 arrests, but later confirmed 475 people were detained. Most of those arrested were from South Korea, according to Steven Schrank, a special agent from Homeland Security Investigations. He did not provide a detailed breakdown of the nationalities of those arrested.
The people taken into custody were suspected of working and living in the U.S. illegally. Some entered the U.S. without permission, some had visa waivers but were not allowed to work, and others had overstayed their visas.
The Hyundai Metaplant, which covers 2,900 acres, includes two parts: a Hyundai electric vehicle manufacturing plant and an EV battery plant that is a partnership between Hyundai and LG. The raid caused construction to stop at the battery plant. LG did not respond to questions about how many of those arrested worked for them or were contractors.
