Federal and state law enforcement detained 475 people for immigration-related offenses at a $7.6 billion electric vehicle battery factory near Savannah, Georgia, on Thursday, September 4, in what immigration officials are calling the "largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of Homeland Security Investigations." The operation was a coup for President Donald Trump's mass deportation goals, but it could come at the expense of another Trump priority: boosting domestic manufacturing.
During a press conference, Steven Schrank, the special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama, said the operation was part of a multimonth criminal investigation into the factory's alleged unlawful employment practices. A judicial search warrant was filed on September 2, naming four people to be searched in connection with the criminal investigation. But immigration authorities arrived in force, ready to question and detain hundreds of workers. Of the 475 detained for offenses ranging from crossing the border illegally to overstaying their visa, over 300 were South Korean nationals. The arrests were meant to send a message that "those who exploit our workforce, undermine our economy, and violate federal laws will be held accountable." No criminal charges have yet been filed.
Video provided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and released by WJCL News, a local ABC News affiliate, shows federal and state officers descending on the site to line up, frisk, and shackle hundreds of workers. Each individual, Schrank said, was questioned on their status, and their documents and backgrounds were reviewed before being transported to a detention facility.
