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WASHINGTON – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA) was among the 20 legislators who issued a statement Saturday expressing alarm over the large-scale immigration raid at a manufacturing site in Georgia where Korean automaker Hyundai makes electric vehicles.
Immigration authorities detained 475 people, most of them South Korean nationals, following the raid in Ellabell, Georgia, on Thursday. It was the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
“We are deeply alarmed by the recent immigration raid at a battery plant in Georgia,” said the statement issued by members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) and Georgia’s congressional delegation.
“Hundreds of immigrants – many of whom are of Korean descent – have been detained, reportedly including US citizens and lawful permanent residents.”
The legislators said that instead of targeting violent criminals, the Trump administration “is going after immigrants at work and in communities of color to meet its mass deportation quotas.”
“These senseless actions rip apart families, hurt the economy, and undermine the trust of our global partners.” they said.
The Filipino American congressman and the 19 other legislators are closely monitoring the situation and demanding that the Trump administration uphold due process for the affected workers.
Steven Schrank, the lead Georgia agent of Homeland Security Investigations, said during a news conference Friday that the raid resulted from a monthslong investigation into allegations of illegal hiring at the site and was the “largest single-site enforcement operation” in the agency’s two-decade history.
The Thursday raid targeted one of Georgia’s largest and most high-profile manufacturing sites, where Hyundai Motor Group a year ago began manufacturing electric vehicles at a $7.6 billion plant.
The site employs about 1,200 people in an area about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Savannah where bedroom communities bleed into farms. Gov. Brian Kemp and other officials have touted it as the state’s largest economic development project.
The other legislators who signed the statement included Congresswoman and CAPAC Chair Grace Meng, Senator Andy Kim, Reps. Mark Takano, Jill Tokuda, Ami Bera, Suhas Subramanyam, Judy Chu, Dan Goldman, Pramila Jayapal, Doris Matsui, Dave Min, Marilyn Strickland, Shri Thanedar and Derek Tran.
All five members of Georgia’s Democratic House Delegation – including Reps. Sanford Bishop, Hank Johnson, Lucy McBath, David Scott and Nikema Williams – also signed the statement. (With AP report)
