The Guardian: "U.S. Immigration Authorities Detained Korean Workers With Valid Visas, Forced Voluntary Departure"

Internal ICE Documents Obtained
Immigration Attorney Also Calls It "Clearly Illegal"

On September 10 (local time), the British daily The Guardian reported that U.S. immigration authorities detained Korean workers at the Hyundai Motor-LG Energy Solution joint venture (HL-GA) battery plant construction site in Georgia, even though they were aware that some of the approximately 300 Koreans arrested held valid visas.

According to documents obtained by The Guardian and written by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, immigration officials were aware that some individuals arrested and transferred to detention facilities during the plant raid held valid visas.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Folkston, Georgia, USA. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The document specifies that one such employee entered the United States in June of this year on a valid B1/B2 visa and worked at the HL-GA site as a contract worker for the Korean company SFA.

Immigration authorities determined that this individual had not violated their visa conditions. However, the director of the Atlanta field office instructed that the worker be classified as a voluntary departure case, and the employee accepted voluntary departure despite not having violated the terms of the B1/B2 visa.

This contradicts the U.S. immigration authorities' claim that all 475 people arrested in the raid were either working illegally or had violated their visas.

Charles Kuck, an immigration attorney in Georgia, pointed out, "Detaining someone who cannot legally be detained is a clear illegal act," adding, "In the United States, this constitutes unlawful detention." A government agency official also told The Guardian that this arrest was illegal.

However, it remains unclear whether others with valid visas were also detained, or how many of those accused of working illegally were actually in violation.

A U.S. government agency official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that immigration authorities claimed those arrested were suspected of violating immigration laws, but many individuals with legal status were also offered voluntary departure. He stated, "If they did not violate U.S. immigration law, there is no legal process for deportation," adding, "This arrest itself is illegal and may be an attempt to inflate arrest numbers or cover up mistakes."

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE's parent agency, told The Guardian, "The individual in question admitted to unauthorized employment while holding a B1/B2 visa," adding, "Voluntary departure was offered and accepted." When The Guardian requested further clarification due to the leaked documents contradicting this statement, DHS reiterated its original position.