The raids at a Hyundai battery plant in Georgia earlier this month illustrate the impunity of Donald Trump’s brutal immigration crackdown. They also shine a spotlight on Hyundai’s labor practices, including exploitation of vulnerable migrant workers.
Four hundred seventy-five workers were arrested at a joint Hyundai and LG Energy Solutions electric-vehicle battery plant under construction in Ellabell, Georgia, on September 4. It was the largest immigration raid at a single location in US history.
The detained workers, most of whom were employed by subcontractors, were shackled with chains around their hands, ankles, and waists in a video released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. LG said forty-seven of its employees were also detained.
The workers were building a sprawling $7.6 bi