Some South Korean workers return to Georgia battery plant after ICE raid
South Korean workers have started returning to the Hyundai-LG battery factory in Georgia after the historic raid on the site in September.
Mr. Kim, one of the engineers who had been detained and who asked to be identified by his surname only, said roughly 50 engineers who were detained have re-entered the United States as of Nov. 15.
According to Kim and an attorney representing the workers, more than 100 of the 317 detained South Korean nationals have now had their B-1 business visas reinstated. The attorney said all B-1 holders had their visas restored without having to reapply — a sign, the lawyer argues, that the workers were lawfully in the U.S. to install equipment at the factory.
Nearly 200 of the detainees are now planning to sue Immigration and Customs Enforcement, alleging unlawful policing, racial profiling, human rights violations, excessive force and unlawful arrest. They were arrested on Sept. 4 and detained for a week, until the U.S. and South Korean governments negotiated for them to return home.
Federal officials called it the "largest, single site enforcement operation in the history of homeland security investigations."
South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs tells ABC News that the U.S. and South Korea are still working to fix the visa system between the two countries.
Hyundai did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
LG Energy Solution said construction and U.S. business travel has resumed.
"Employees of LG Energy Solution and its partners are traveling to, or will travel to, HL-GA and other U.S. production facilities that are currently operating or under construction, with plans to expand the business travel gradually," the company said in a statement to ABC News.
The State Department would not comment on details of individual visas, but said in a statement to ABC News: "What we're talking about here is foreign workers with very specialized skills coming to the United States for a short time to train up American workers before returning to their own country, so we can increase job opportunities for Americans."
"The Department is implementing the President's commitment to the reindustrialization of America by facilitating legitimate business travel and foreign direct investment," the statement continued, adding that the U.S. is coordinating closely with the South Korean government and facilitating visas tied to Korean investments.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly defended bringing immigrants with specialized skills to the U.S. to help build battery factories. In a Fox News interview earlier this month, he argued that battery production is "very complicated" and "very dangerous," and that South Korean engineers have been "making batteries all their lives."
Trump's defense of H-1B visas and remarks that the U.S. doesn't have people with "certain talents" to fill jobs have sparked backlash from parts of his MAGA base.
On Monday, Trump again referenced the Georgia raid, claiming he told DHS to "stop" the action against the workers.
"We had one case in Georgia with a battery factory… they brought in, they spent a billion dollars to build a factory, and they were told to get out," Trump said. "And I said, 'Stop it. Don't be stupid.' And we worked it out, and now they're teaching our people how to do it."
