ICE arrests almost 500 workers at Georgia auto plant

Update: Some 330 workers, 316 of whom were South Korean, the others Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian, were returned to South Korea on a charter flight on Sept.12 after being arrested by ICE and detained by for a week under terrible conditions.  They were among the 475 workers arrested by ICE at the Georgia Hyundai plant on Sept. 4 and detained.  Thousands of Koreans rallied in Seoul on Sept. 13 in an anti-U.S. rally against the detentions.

The huge, 3,000-acre Hyundai manufacturing site — what the company calls its “Metaplant” — near Savannah, Georgia, was the scene of a massive immigration raid on Sept. 4. This was the largest raid in the history of the federal Homeland Security Investigations agency. The target was the workforce constructing a battery plant being developed jointly by Hyundai and LG Energy Solutions to supply batteries for the electric vehicles already in production on the site.

This $12.6 billion project is touted by Gov. Brian Kemp as the largest economic deal in Georgia’s history, one sure to establish his credentials for his future political ambitions. Hyundai and its partners have another battery plant in Bartow County in the state and have expanded the Kia car assembly plant in West Point, Georgia. Hyundai’s facilities have been the site of at least three worker deaths and complaints of unsafe working conditions as well as hostility to union organizing.

At the Metaplant, some 475 workers were detained, handcuffed and shackled, and put on buses to be housed at the Folkston Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center close to the Florida border. This privately-operated facility is notorious for its deplorable conditions and has been the site of many protests.

Multiple federal and state agencies took part in the round-up of about 300 South Koreans as well as workers from many Central and South American countries.

In addition to dozens of Georgia State Patrol cars and officers that blocked surrounding roads, there were helicopters and drones overhead as workers were brought out into the parking lot to be interrogated.

According to a production line worker in the car manufacturing facility who was interviewed on WRFG 89.3FM’s Sept. 9 Labor Forum program, most of his co-workers were unaware of what was happening until they left at the end of their shift and tried to access the county roads. He reported they were unable to get close to see what was happening.

The response of the South Korean government was swift, emphasizing that “the rights and interests of both their investment companies and their citizens must not be unjustly violated by US law proceedings.” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sept. 8)

The release of the South Korean workers is expected to take place quickly, and they will be flown home on a chartered plane. Some 23 workers from Central and South American countries have reportedly signed papers to be returned to their respective countries immediately. The fate of the more than 100 other detained immigrants has not been made public.

Migrant Equity South East, a local Savannah organization, is providing material, financial and political support for the detained workers and their families.

Georgia AFL-CIO President Yvonne Brooks stated, “This raid is the latest in an ongoing campaign of harassment that has targeted immigrant Georgians as they try to earn an honest living.” The solidarity message denounced “arresting and detaining workers who are exploited every day and risk their lives on the job” and “the atmosphere of fear that terrorizes workers and their families.” (fox5atlanta.com, Sept. 5)

On Sept. 7, the United Auto Workers Union published a statement, “Condemning Dangerous Working Conditions and Immigration Raid at Hyundai” that concluded by saying, “The UAW will always stand with all workers — immigrant and native born — against unsafe corporations and militarized attacks on our workplaces.” (uaw.org, Sept. 7)

Union statements are helpful, but they are not enough. Organized labor must mobilize its rank and file to defend migrant workers from these vicious attacks.

Dianne Mathiowetz is a retired UAW GM worker and hosts The Labor Forum.