In brief
Buses carrying over 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Georgia battery factory have begun their journey to Atlanta, where a charter flight awaits to return them home. In total, 330 detainees, including workers from other countries, were released. South Korean officials emphasized the need for improvements in the U.S. visa system following the incident.
ATLANTA (AP) — Buses carrying workers from South Korea who were detained last week in an immigration raid at a battery factory were traveling Thursday from a detention center in southeast Georgia to Atlanta, where a charter plane was waiting to take them home.
More than 300 Koreans were among about 475 workers detained during last week’s raid at the battery factory under construction on Hyundai’s sprawling auto plant west of Savannah. A Korean Air Boeing 747-8i arrived in Atlanta on Wednesday and is set to depart at noon Thursday with the workers on board.
The detainees were held at an immigration detention center in Folkston, 285 miles southeast of Atlanta. The South Korean Foreign Ministry confirmed that U.S. authorities have released the 330 detainees — with 316 being Koreans. The group also includes 10 Chinese nationals, three Japanese nationals, and one Indonesian.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has called for improvements to the U.S. visa system, emphasizing that Korean companies may hesitate to invest in the U.S. without such changes.
During discussions in Washington, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun expressed concerns over the experiences of the detained workers, urging the U.S. government to assist in their swift departure without handcuffs to avoid future immigration issues.
