Lawmakers fear ICE raid on Georgia Hyundai plant could impact future foreign investments in US
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - On Thursday morning, buses carrying more than 300 South Korean nationals arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport with a police escort.
They boarded Korean Air flight 9036 to fly home after being detained during an ICE raid in southeast Georgia.
The raid happened at a Hyundai plant last week in Ellabell that makes electric vehicles. Federal agents say they detained 475 people there who had either entered the country illegally or had an expired work visa.
RELATED: South Korean workers detained in immigration raid leave Atlanta and head home
Immigration attorney Charles Kuck, who represents some of the workers, told Atlanta News First that many of them were installers and engineers who would've been gone anyway in the coming months.
"Much like we make products that aren't made in other parts of the world, and we send Americans over there to install it, that's all that was going on," Kuck said.
Democratic state Sen. Derek Mallow, who represents District 2, where the raid happened, is now questioning how this could impact Georgia's business relationships with foreign countries moving forward.
"If I was the Korean government I'm rethinking, 'Do I invest in America? Look at how they treated our people. And look at how they're treating people in general,'" Mallow said. "It is a disservice to America, it is a disservice to the investment that Hyundai has made, and Georgia and America should do better."
RELATED: Metro Atlanta Korean-Americans respond to immigration raid in southeast Georgia
This week Gov. Brian Kemp also issued a statement saying Georgia has always worked hard to maintain a strong relationship with South Korea.
"We are thankful they are reiterating their commitment to adhere to all state and federal laws, just as we remain committed to not allowing this unfortunate incident to undo the decades of mutually beneficial partnerships we've built together," Kemp said.
South Korea's president also said Thursday during a press conference that this ICE raid could have "considerable impact" on direct U.S. investment from his country and that it created a lot of confusion.
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