South Korean workers that experts have said are necessary for the speedy construction of large-scale manufacturing projects in the U.S. are questioning whether or not to return to the U.S. after a Sept. 4 Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at the site of an under-development Hyundai-LG battery plant in Ellabell, Ga., earlier this month detained 475 workers—317 South Koreans—in reportedly poor conditions.
One detainee secretly kept a diary of the dayslong detention on a folded up sheet of paper detailing their alleged mistreatment in the ICE facility, which was obtained by South Korean news agency Yonhap. Meanwhile, immigration lawyer Charles Kuck, who represents seven of the detained South Koreans, said his clients had entered and were working in the U.S. legally, and a leaked ICE document showed that at least one detainee had a valid visa, according to the Guardian.
President Donald Trump reportedly sought for the workers to stay in the U.S. and train American workers, a request that delayed their return to South Korea. But 330 detainees—316 Koreans and 14 other foreign nationals—opted to return to Seoul, where they were greeted with cheers on Friday. Just one South Korean worker chose to stay in the U.S.
“Nobody is going to stay and work when it’s like this,” Jang Young-seol, an engineer for an LGES subcontractor, told Reuters.
The detentions of the workers had caused an uproar in South Korea—a security ally and longtime friend of the U.S.—with lawmakers and diplomats criticizing the U.S.’s visa system. It has also led some South Korean firms to question their investments in the U.S. The raid came just weeks after South Korea had pledged to directly invest $350 billion in the U.S. as part of a trade deal. Experts have told TIME that Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown is butting heads with his push to attract foreign investment and bring manufacturing back to the U.S. The Hyundai-LG battery plant, which is expected to create…
