475 people taken in ice custody at the Hyundai plant in Georgia

The United States immigration authorities have arrested 475 people in a raid in a manufacturing site of Hyundai in Georgia, Steve Schrank, a special agent in charge of the research of Comeland Atlanta values, said at a press conference on Friday.

The installation of Hyundai, located in Ellabell, Georgia, approximately 30 miles west of Savannah, was raided “as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into accusations of illegal employment practices and other serious federal crimes,” according to a statement from the Department of National Security.

The raid was authorized by a search warrant issued by the judge after an investigation of months of the installation, Schrank said. The workplace research remains active, he added, but no irregularities have been presented.

The arrested people worked for several contractors, as well as for the parent company, Hyundai, Schrank said.

“In fact, this was the operation of a single larger place in the history of national security research,” Schrank added.

Hyundai issued a statement about the raid, saying that she was aware of the incident and “monitoring the situation closely and working to understand the specific circumstances.”

“As of today, we understand that none of the detainees is used directly by Hyundai Motor Company,” said the company.

In a press conference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea said that it has transmitted its “concerns and regrets” to the United States for the raid in an Hyundai-LG battery plant, “urging special attention to ensure that the legitimate rights and interests of our citizens are not violated.”

“The economic activities of our companies that invest in the US and the rights and interests of our nationals should not be unfairly violated,” said a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Consular officials were sent to the plant and were told to the local diplomatic missions to establish a working group to address the problems related to the raid.

“This investigation focuses on guaranteeing the responsibility of those who violate the law and defend the rule of law,” said a DHS spokesman.

Federal officials are planning a press information session to disseminate more information “regarding a recent criminal search order and application actions to combat illegal employment practices in the state of Georgia,” according to DHS officials.