WASHINGTON — A U.S. immigration lawyer representing more than a dozen workers arrested at a Hyundai facility in Georgia last week said on Wednesday that many of the nearly 500 picked up appeared to be working legally, contradicting allegations by authorities.

The attorney, Atlanta-based Charles Kuck, said his clients included seven South Koreans who entered via the ESTA program, for countries with visa-free travel to the U.S., or with B-1 visas for temporary business travel.

He said they were legally allowed to engage in specific work that was outlined in letters attached to their applications, including installing and calibrating battery equipment. U.S. immigration authorities arrested 475 people at a Hyundai car battery plant near Savannah, Georgia, a large-scale operation that include

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