Hyundai CEO joins chorus calling for visa overhaul after Georgia ICE raid
Most people learned of this month’s federal immigration raid that detained nearly 500 workers at Hyundai’s sprawling Georgia auto factory site via social media or news reports.
This includes Hyundai’s CEO.
“I could not believe what I saw,” José Muñoz, chief executive at Hyundai Motor Co., told media outlets including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday, recounting first seeing the raid on TV at his California office. “Normally, I would know before the news.”
Federal agents called the Sept. 4 operations the largest of its kind since at least 2010, and it halted work on a battery factory on Hyundai’s electric vehicle campus near Savannah. In the hours and days that followed, the situation fueled an international firestorm between the U.S. and South Korea, catching Hyundai and its partner companies in the crossfire.
More than 300 people detained in the raid were Korean nationals, primarily high-skill workers specialized in battery technologies. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the workers lacked proper visa documentation, although charges were not filed.
Amid the auto industry’s electrification push, battery factories are crucial for original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, an industry term for automakers.
Hyundai’s Georgia plant, which it calls its Metaplant, is no different, especially as the company plans a $2.7 billion expansion that will increase annual production to 500,000 units.
The on-site battery factory — technology recent presidential administrations have been working to recruit stateside — isn’t possible without the skills found in Korea, Muñoz said.
“Just look around. The American OEMs, the Japanese OEMs, the Korean OEMs and the European OEMs, for the most part, they have a Korean supply for batteries,” he said. “So it’s obvious that you need to bring the expertise of those key people during the construction of the factory itself.”
Muñoz joined a growing chorus of international stakeholders and politicians who say the American visa process for high-skilled temporary workers needs re-assessment.
Those voices include President Donald Trump, whose comments shifted from initially praising the raid to reassuring foreign companies that America values its investment and workforce.
Mixed signals
Since entering the American market in 1986, Hyundai and its subsidiaries such as Kia have invested about $20.5 billion in U.S. facilities. Between 2025 and 2028, the Korean auto giant has committed to $26 billion of new investment.
Georgia is a large beneficiary of that initiative.
Already home to a Kia factory in West Point, Hyundai’s 3,000-acre Metaplant campus is billed as a $12.6 billion investment between Hyundai and battery partner LG Energy Solution. Hyundai also promises to employ 8,500 workers at the campus as part of its nearly $2 billion taxpayer-backed incentive agreement approved by state and local officials.
The battery factory construction site targeted by ICE is jointly operated by Hyundai and LG. Muñoz said the Korean workers detained primarily worked for tier two and tier three suppliers for LG, distancing Hyundai’s involvement.
“We are a very serious company,” he said. “We are compliant with all types of regulation in all the markets where we operate.”
Charles Shapiro, a retired ambassador and former president of the World Affairs Council of Atlanta, said the immigration raid runs counter to the end goals of recruiting foreign investment.
“These are people putting the factory together that Gov. (Brian) Kemp is bragging about, that President Trump is bragging about,” Shapiro said.
Kemp on Tuesday, while attending the groundbreaking for Rivian’s EV factory east of Atlanta, said other international stakeholders have been watching the raid’s fallout closely. It’s left his office to play some damage control.
“We’ve had good conversations with companies that are here,” he said. “We’ve had good conversations with companies that are unnamed that are looking to do business here. … At the end of the day, I don’t think that (the visa issues) is going to affect us.”
Calls for change
Speaking in Atlanta on Thursday, Daehwan Kim, the deputy consul general for Korea‘s consulate in Atlanta, called the Hyundai raid “regrettable.” But said he sees a potential silver lining.
“We hope this unfortunate event eventually turns out to be a blessing in disguise leading to concrete improvements in the visa system that will better ensure the stable state of skilled personnel supporting Korean investment in the United States,” Kim told a group gathered for an event on U.S.-Korea policy and cooperation.
Revamping the visa process has been a focus of state leaders as well.
Chris Clark, president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, said reform is needed, particularly for sectors like agriculture and emerging technologies like batteries.
“They bring unique expertise and knowledge to this state,” he said. “We need a visa system that allows them to do their jobs because in the long-term Georgia benefits.”
Washington and Seoul expedited the release of most of the detainees, allowing nearly all of the Korean nationals to fly back to their home country. But the raid’s fallout will delay the battery plant’s opening by two or three months, Muñoz said.
— Staff writer Mirtha Donastorg contributed to this report.
About the Author
Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He's been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people's lives.
