Homeland security official says 475 people were detained during Georgia immigration raid

The Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America is seen on March 26, 2025, in Ellabell, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)

This story was updated on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 11:26 a.m.

ELLABELL, Ga. (AP) — Immigration authorities said Friday they detained 475 people, most of them South Korean nationals, when hundreds of federal agents raided the sprawling manufacturing site in Georgia where Korean automaker Hyundai makes electric vehicles.

Steven Schrank, the lead Georgia agent of Homeland Security Investigations, said during a news conference Friday that the raid resulted from a monthslong investigation into allegations of illegal hiring at the site and was the “largest single site enforcement operation” in the agency’s two-decade history.