Fallout from Hyundai-LG Battery Plant Raid: Voluntary Departure Procedures and Future Implications
After U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted a large-scale raid at the Hyundai Motor–LG Energy Solution joint battery plant near Savannah, Georgia, detaining more than 300 Korean workers, controversy is growing over how the detainees will be processed.
Some experts warn that choosing voluntary departure while in detention effectively means admitting guilt, which could lead to serious disadvantages for future re-entry into the U.S. A Korean-American lawyer told Yonhap News, “Voluntary departure is essentially an admission of guilt and a choice to leave the country while giving up the right to contest the charges in immigration court.” On the other hand, if individuals leave the U.S. before being detained, the decision may leave little trace in immigration records, reducing the risk of penalties upon re-entry—hence, the debate continues.
The Korean consular task force has been visiting ICE facilities even on weekends to meet detainees, explaining the procedures and potential disadvantages of voluntary departure, and collecting signed consent forms. Some detainees have not yet been assigned foreigner registration numbers (“A-numbers”) by ICE, but once they receive them, the process is expected to move quickly. Still, it remains unclear whether all 300-plus detainees will return to Korea on chartered flights. Some may prefer to go through immigration court to preserve the possibility of re-entering the U.S. in the future.
The issue has escalated into a diplomatic matter. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is scheduled to visit the U.S. as early as the 8th to meet his counterpart, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to discuss minimizing future disadvantages for the detainees. He is also expected to raise fundamental concerns over the visa shortage facing Korean companies in the U.S. despite their massive investments. U.S. authorities have failed to provide sufficient work visas even as Korean firms have poured billions into projects, leaving companies to rely heavily on ESTA entries. Skilled labor shortages in the U.S. have made the problem worse.
The Hyundai-LG plant, with a direct investment of $14.7 billion, has been hailed as “the largest in Georgia’s history” and a symbol of Korean investment in the U.S. economy. But the raid has left the site in shock. According to employees present at the time, ICE agents abruptly locked down the plant, lined workers up, and verified their immigration status. Only citizens and valid visa holders were issued a “cleared to depart” slip, while others were marked with red wristbands and transported to the ICE detention center in Folkston.
Some employees reportedly hid in rooftop ducts for more than 13 hours to avoid capture, while dozens of abandoned bags belonging to detained workers were left scattered around the factory the next day. “We worked around the clock to complete the plant as quickly as possible out of a sense of responsibility, but overnight our colleagues disappeared, leaving us devastated,” said one employee, adding, “It is frustrating that the government failed to address the visa issue in advance.”
Currently, the plant is about 95% complete in construction and 50% in equipment installation. But with hundreds of key workers now gone, the completion timeline is uncertain. Local staff fear, “There’s no one left in the U.S. who can finish the job.”
