One Week After Georgia ICE Raids
An Open Letter to Those in Power
September 11, 2025
We write to you from Ellabell, Georgia, where just one week ago, on Sept. 4, 2025, we witnessed the largest single-site raid so far in this second Trump Administration. As you've surely heard, on that day 475 workers were arrested when 500 federal, state, and local officers descended on the Hyundai-LG battery plant, turning the site into a "war zone."
Masked agents stormed the facility and arrested about 300 South Korean nationals and 175 others from Guatemala, Colombia, Chile, China, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Ecuador, and Venezuela. The workers were then put on buses and sent to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center. This was the latest example of a systematic federal immigration enforcement strategy that is terrorizing immigrant communities.
Workers said agents armed with rifles lined them up against walls, demanded identification, and conducted immigration status checks for over an hour. The operation involved multiple federal agencies—ICE, Border Patrol, FBI, DEA, IRS, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—alongside the Georgia State Patrol. Gov. Brian Kemp once touted the Hyundai plant as the biggest development project in Georgia, yet readily partnered with enforcement agencies who subjected the very workers who fuel this economic engine to inhumane and violent treatment. Where is the public response from Georgia's other policymakers and elected officials? We urge you to recognize this is not a time for silence.
This overwhelming show of force terrorized workers across the 2,900-acre site, leaving many in fear for their lives, including a pregnant woman whose life, and that of her unborn child, was at risk. Despite some workers having valid work permits and asylum applications, their family members report that they were detained anyway.
Today, hundreds of families across Georgia are living in fear and uncertainty. These raids create ripple effects far beyond those directly detained. Children are asking why their fathers and mothers haven't come home. Some families are keeping their children home from school. Working people are making difficult decisions to either stay home or put food on the table because they are afraid to report to job sites. When our immigrant neighbors do not feel safe to fully participate in our communities, we lose important members of our social fabric, businesses lose workers and customers, and our local economies suffer.
In the face of this attack, communities are coming together to defend their neighbors. Migrant Equity Southeast (MESE), along with immigrant rights, labor, and community-based groups are on the ground providing critical support to families impacted by the raids.
We respectfully ask that state and local officials take prompt action:
Demand the immediate release of detained workers. These individuals deserve due process and the right to return to their loved ones.
Publicly condemn this raid and the harm inflicted on immigrant communities.
Sit with impacted families, listen with intention, and uplift their stories.
Show concrete support for immigrant communities in your jurisdictions.
As we write this letter one week after the Georgia raid, deportation flights have already taken place. More than 300 Korean nationals have been returned overseas, along with Chinese, Japanese, and Indonesian workers. Others remain detained and separated from their families. Across our state and beyond, families are waiting for answers, still hoping for justice, and still fighting for their loved ones’ freedom. We urge every elected official reading this letter to stand with working families and defend the values of dignity and opportunity that define our communities. Stand with us.
Respectfully,
Georgia Organizations
Migrant Equity Southeast
Angkor Resource Center
Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Atlanta
Asian American Advocacy Fund
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Atlanta Democratic Socialists of America
Atlanta Chapter, National Lawyers Guild
Asian Law Caucus
Caribbean Georgia Votes, Inc.
CASA
Coalition De Lideres Latinos
Common Cause Georgia
CAIR-Georgia
Eritrean-American Community Association of Georgia
Filipino Leadership Alumni Network (FLAN)
GALEO Impact Fund
GCYD
Georgia AAPI Hub
Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network
Georgia Muslim Voter Project
GLOW (Grassroots Law & Organizing for Workers)
Gwinnett County Young Democrats
Georgia Budget and Policy Institute
Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR)
Indivisible Lumpkin
Laotian American Society of Georgia
Represent GA Action Network
Sur Legal Collaborative
U-Lead Athens
Union of Southern Service Workers
United Campus Workers of Georgia, CWA Local 3821
Women Watch Afrika
The Young Democrats of Georgia
Young Democrats of Bulloch County
The Young Democrats of Georgia Labor Caucus
9to5 Georgia
National Organizations
AAPIs for Civic Empowerment (AAPI FORCE)
Ahri Center
Asian Leaders Alliance
Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education
Austin Region Justice for Our Neighbors
Centro de los Derechos del Migrante
Common Cause
Economic Policy Institute
Estrella del Paso
Family Action Network Movement
Hamkae Center
HANA Center
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef)
Japanese American Citizens League
Jobs to Move America
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement
9to5 Georgia
Malaya
Miami Valley Immigration Coalition
National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association (NAAPIMHA)
National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum
National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD)
NALDEF, Nicaraguan American Legal Defense and Education Fund
National Korean American Service and Education Consortium
National Employment Law Project
National Immigration Project
National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates
Ohio Immigrant Alliance
People Power United
Pilipino Workers Center of Southern CaliforniaPoder Latinx
Radical Communicators
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Southeast Immigrant Rights Network
Stop AAPI Hate
The Social Justice Center
United Parent Leaders Action Network
United We Dream
Xīn Shēng | 心声 Project
9to5
PRESS RELEASE
Georgia ICE Raid Part of Escalating Pattern of Attacks on Immigrant Communities
September 8, 2025
Savannah, GA – Immigrant rights, labor, and community based groups called for transparency, accountability and immediate support for those impacted following last week’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid where 475 workers from the Hyundai Supplier and LG Energy Solution plant in Ellabell, Georgia on September 4.
At a press conference held today at the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia in Savannah, Migrant Equity Southeast (MESE) and partner organizations denounced the raid as a militarized assault on immigrant workers that left families separated and communities traumatized.
"All workers regardless of status were intimidated, including pregnant women,” said Daniela Rodríguez, Executive Director of MESE. “Their labor makes coastal Georgia thrive. We cannot call ourselves a civilized society if the very people who build our homes, our cars, and our future are treated this way."
ICE agents, armed with military-grade weapons, sealed off the site, blocked roads, and surrounded the area with helicopters, drones, and armored vehicles. Witnesses reported that workers were loaded onto buses, had their phones confiscated, and many were pressured to sign documents without legal counsel. Accounts also describe the use of physical force, tear gas, and intimidation tactics. Advocates stressed that these were not workplace checks but military-style operations carried out against civilian workers.
Community leaders speak at a press conference in Savannah, Georgia, denouncing the September 4 ICE raid that detained 475 workers at the Hyundai Supplier and LG Energy Solution plant.
This raid doesn’t expose a problem with immigrant workers. It exposes a system where multinational corporations like Hyundai cut corners on safety, exploit vulnerable migrant labor, and then shift the blame when the consequences hit.
“We must understand that these raids did not happen in isolation. Hyundai has a documented history of labor violations. Just this spring, two workers were killed in preventable accidents at this same plant.” said Jenny Miron, Labor Rights Organizer with MESE. “Their deaths should have been a wake-up call for change — instead, workers continue to pay the price with their safety, their freedom, and now, their families.”
“Militarized enforcement actions disguised as workplace investigations raise serious legal and moral concerns,” Meredyth Yoon, Litigation Director at Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta. “This raid is among the largest worksite actions in U.S. history, and it cannot come at the expense of individual rights. We have concerns for the impacted individuals, families, and their rights and are committed to understanding the extent to which the U.S. Government and employers have violated rights.”
The raid underscores an exploitative labor system in which companies like Hyundai profit through layers of subcontractors while distancing themselves from responsibility when workers are harmed. Community leaders rejected claims that detained workers were not Hyundai’s employees, stressing that companies must take responsibility for all workers in their supply chain.
“These raids terrorize migrant workers while letting corporations like Hyundai off the hook for repeated labor violations. Instead of arresting workers, our government should hold abusive employers accountable,” said Julia Solorzano, Legal and Policy Director at Centro de Los Derechos del Migrante.
As immediate support is being organized on the ground, state and federal legislators must investigate these militarized raids, hold corporations accountable for labor abuses, and advance protections that keep families together and workers safe. ICE’s actions have left families without stability or security. No worker should face militarized raids on the job and no family should face the threat of sudden separation.
Support for impacted families
Migrant Equity Southeast (MESE), is on the ground providing critical support to families impacted by the raids. Advocates are coordinating mutual aid, and connecting loved ones with resources to help them navigate this crisis. Partners are also working to organize legal services and host legal clinics to ensure those detained and their families have access to legal guidance and support. The number to request help is 912-429-7951.
Ways the public can help:
Report ICE activity or request help: 912-429-7951
Donate to support impacted families: https://bit.ly/MESEdonate
Volunteer for legal aid, language support, fundraising, or community care and mutual aid: https://bit.ly/MeseVolunteer
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About Migrant Equity Southeast
Migrant Equity Southeast is a Latinx and immigrant-led 501(c)(3) in South Georgia serving migrant and refugee communities across the Southeast. MESE advances immigrant rights through advocacy, mutual aid, education, and outreach.
PRESS STATEMENT
Georgia Communities Condemn Government Raid Tearing People from their Jobs and Threatening Civil Liberties
September 5, 2025
Today, immigrant rights and social justice organizations across Georgia are sounding the alarm after witnessing the largest ICE raid in history at the Hyundai supplier and LG Energy Solution plant in Ellabell, GA. Without warning, 475 workers were taken from their jobs midday.
This raid is not an isolated incident. It is part of a dangerous, escalating pattern of government agencies abducting people from schools, neighborhoods, airports, and workplaces with growing impunity. If workers fear going to their jobs, there will be instability across industries and daily life. When 475 workers are taken, more than 475 families are impacted, and an entire community is broken apart.
Yesterday, it was Hyundai’s and LG Energy Solution plant workers. Tomorrow, it could be any one of us — because we have already seen at scale the efforts to chip away at our collective civil liberties. This is not normal and is unacceptable. Our communities know the workers targeted at Hyundai are everyday people who are trying to feed their families, build stronger communities, and work toward a better future.
Hundreds of individuals abducted in the raids are now at the Folkston ICE Processing Center (FIPC) located in Charlton County. FIPC has a well-documented history of inhumane conditions and violations found by federal inspectors. It is also currently slated to become the largest immigrant detention center in the country.
We call on everyone in our communities to heed the warning call of this action and demand more of the leaders elected to positions of power based on their promises to protect all Georgians. Take action now – call Senator Jon Ossoff at (912) 200-9402 and Senator Raphael Warnock at (770) 694-7828 to demand immediate accountability and protection for immigrant communities. Now, more than ever, Georgia’s communities need elected leaders who will protect and defend the most vulnerable and targeted communities. We will continue to organize and protect our communities, and we demand our representatives do the same.
This statement is issued jointly by the following organizations:
Migrant Equity Southeast
Asians Are Strong
Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Atlanta
Asian American Advocacy Fund
Asian American Voices for Education
Asian American Women’s Political Initiative (AAWPI)
Asian Leaders Alliance
Asian Student Alliance
CASA
Centro de los Derechos del Migrante
Common Cause Georgia
Community EsTr(El/La)
Demo Lab South
Filipino Leadership Alumni Network
GALEO Impact Fund
Georgia AAPI Hub
Georgia Advancing Progress PAC
Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network
Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR)
Jobs to Move America
Latino Community Fund (LCF GA)
Los Vecinos de Buford Highway
Malaya Movement Georgia
National Immigration Project
RAKSHA
Women Watch Afrika
We Love Buford Highway
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