ICE Raids Hyundai EV Manufacturing Complex In Georgia

Hyundai found itself in the crosshairs of ICE yesterday as agents raided the automaker’s EV manufacturing complex in Georgia. It’s the first time we’ve heard of such a thing and it has some in the auto industry feeling panicked. But there’s more to this raid than many are understanding.

Police bust a muscle car chop shop hiding in plain sight at a storage unit.

First of all, it doesn’t appear ICE was really focusing on Hyundai or its assembly workers at the plant, which is situated west of Savannah. The site is home to a growing number of buildings, including a battery manufacturing building that’s under construction, which according to an AP report is what ICE was targeting.

In other words, the federal agency suspected illegal immigrants were employed by the construction companies working on that project, not Hyundai.

Not only did the US Department of Homeland Security execute a search warrant it said was “part of an ongoing criminal investigation into allegations of unlawful employment practices and other serious federal crimes,” the state of Georgia provided containment and backup.

Georgia State Patrol sent troopers to block off the roads leading to the Hyundai manufacturing complex. In other words, it was nobody in or out while the raid happened, keeping suspects from fleeing.

However, during all of that, Hyundai clarified in a statement that vehicle assembly work wasn’t interrupted. That was thanks in part to the roads not being shut down until the morning shift had begun.

While there might be some panic that ICE is going to start plucking auto assembly workers out of factories, at least in this case that wasn’t at all what happened. We suppose it could become reality at some point.

Hyundai has had its own manufacturing plant problems in recent years, including the discovery that minors were working at its factory in Alabama last year.

Image via Hyundai