The large-scale Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid at the Hyundai manufacturing plant in Georgia on Thursday has been touted by members of the Trump administration as the most ambitious enforcement action yet of President Trump\u2019s tenure.<\/p>\n
But the raid \u2014 which saw hundreds of mostly South Korean citizens detained \u2014 has placed a strain on the president\u2019s relationship with a close American ally and has forced him to navigate competing priorities of his administration.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what to know about the workplace raid and the diplomatic fallout:<\/p>\n
Steven Schrank, the lead Georgia agent of Homeland Security Investigations, said the operation in Georgia was the \u201clargest single site enforcement operation\u201d in the two-decade history of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).<\/p>\n
Schrank said the raid resulted from a months-long investigation into alleged illegal hirings at the worksite.<\/p>\n
Nearly 500 people were detained at the site, including more than 300 South Korean citizens, according to South Korea\u2019s foreign minister, Cho Hyun.<\/p>\n
The immigration statuses of all the detained workers were not immediately clear.<\/p>\n
Schrank said some detained workers entered the U.S. illegally, others arrived legally but stayed on expired visas and others were permitted to be in the U.S. but were prohibited from working.<\/p>\n
An attorney for a couple of the detainees pushed back, saying his clients were on a visa allowing them to travel for business for up to 90 days \u2014 which the attorney said they were well within.<\/p>\n
The raid targeted Hyundai Motor Group\u2019s manufacturing site that Georgia officials have long lauded as its largest economic development site.<\/p>\n
The operation especially targeted a plant still under construction that is slated to operate with LG Energy Solution to produce batteries to power electric vehicles.<\/p>\n
The overall site employs approximately 1,200 people about 25 miles from Savannah, Ga.<\/p>\n
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) and other GOP state officials issued statements after the raid saying all employers were expected to follow the law. They had previously celebrated the plant\u2019s opening.<\/p>\n
The South Korean government initially expressed \u201cconcern and regret\u201d after the operation, which targeted hundreds of its citizens. Korean officials were sent to the site.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe business activities of our investors and the rights of our nationals must not be unjustly infringed in the process of U.S. law enforcement,\u201d a spokesperson for South Korea\u2019s foreign ministry said in a televised statement.<\/p>\n