In brief
The ICE raid at a Hyundai factory in Georgia led to the arrest of 475 workers for visa violations, raising concerns over South Korean citizens' rights and U.S. immigration policies. While officials emphasized the legality of the operation, some individuals caught in the raid dispute the claims of illegal employment.
The car workers arrested in one of the largest ever US workplace immigration raids had violated their visitor visas, officials say.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said 475 people, mostly South Korean citizens - were found to be illegally working at a Hyundai plant in the US state of Georgia on Thursday.
People on short-term or recreational visas are not authorized to work in the US, ICE said, adding that the raid was necessary to protect American jobs.
South Korea, whose companies have promised to invest billions of dollars in key US industries in the coming years, partly to avoid tariffs, has sent diplomats to Georgia, and called for its citizens' rights to be respected.
The arrested workers were being held at an ICE facility in Folkston, Georgia, until the agency decides where to move them next.
Of those detained, 300 are reported to be Korean nationals. Hyundai said in a statement that none of them were directly employed by the company.
In a statement on Friday, the ICE office in the city of Savannah said the raid was part of an active, ongoing criminal investigation.
The raid raises a possible tension between two of President Donald Trump's top priorities - building up manufacturing within the US and cracking down on illegal immigration. It could also put stress on the country's relationship with a key ally.
President Trump said in the Oval Office on Friday: They were illegal aliens and ICE was just doing its job.
