‘US Officers Tied Us Up, Pointed Guns’: South Korean Workers Recall Immigration Raids

Last Updated:September 17, 2025, 17:57 IST

Around 300 South Korean engineers were detained and deported from the Hyundai‑LG plant in Georgia after an ICE raid, facing harsh treatment.

File photo of US immigration raids at Hyundai plant. (Screengrab from X)

Days after around 300 South Korean engineers were deported from the US, the workers said that the immigration officers had tied them up and even pointed guns at them.

Youngjin, one of those who were detained in the US state of Georgia earlier this month, in one of the largest immigration raids of Donald Trump’s presidency to date, said that he never expected to be detained by the immigration enforcement officers.

“I panicked and my mind went blank. I felt sick,” he told the BBC, now back home in South Korea. “I couldn’t understand why I was being treated like this.”

The workers were part of a larger group detained after a September 4 raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Hyundai‑LG battery plant under construction in Ellabell, Georgia. In total, ICE picked up 475 workers — 317 of them South Korean — amid reports of crowded, unsanitary conditions and other abuses.

According to BBC, the US officials initially claimed the workers had been in the country illegally on incorrect visas, but eventually the two sides struck a deal allowing them to leave voluntarily without any penalties, so they could return to work there in the future.

On September 12, about 300 of the detainees flew back to Seoul, greeted at Incheon Airport by cheering families and government officials. Only one South Korean worker chose to stay in the US, despite earlier calls by Trump for the workers to remain and train American labourers.

“We just came out for a brief break and I could see a lot of people, officials with guns. As Koreans, we just thought they were here to arrest criminals, but then, they suddenly started arresting us. There were helicopters and drones, armoured vehicles… people with guns,” said Chul-yong, who was also detained on that day.

He recalled that there were some officers who pointed guns at the workers. “You know those red lasers that come out of those guns? It was so shocking that some people were shivering in fear.”

He added that shackle were put on his ankles and another around his waist, connected to handcuffs. “It was so tight, I couldn’t touch my face with my hands.”

BBC quoted another worker, Kim, as saying that the officials arrested even those who managed to share their visa details. “I thought everything would be cleared up but instead, they suddenly shackled us,” he said.

Following the incident, US President Donald Trump acknowledged the need for specialists from other countries to train US workers. BBC quoted South Korean officials as saying that US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau has expressed his “deep regrets” over the incident.

“Even the US side feels it may have gone a bit too far,” South Korea’s chief trade negotiator told reporters after returning from the US.

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