Chaos and Fear: South Korean Engineers Share Ordeal After US Immigration Raid

Thu Sep 18 2025 03:45:16 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

A group of South Korean engineers detained by US immigration officials recounts their traumatic experience during a raid, sparking outrage and discussions on immigration enforcement protocols.

In a shocking immigration enforcement incident in Georgia, over 300 South Korean engineers were detained by US immigration officers in one of the most extensive raids under recent policies. Eyewitnesses describe the chaos and fear they experienced, with armed agents invading their workplace and unjustly treating them as criminals. The incident raises serious concerns about immigration practices and diplomatic relations between the US and South Korea.

When Youngjin looked out of his office window and saw armoured trucks and immigration enforcement officers running around with guns, he was surprised, but not worried.

The young South Korean was certain it had nothing to do with him. He was in the US only for a few weeks on a short-term visa, he thought to himself.

Then the armed agents burst into his room and ordered him outside. They handcuffed him, before attaching chains to his waist and ankles, and loaded him onto a bus bound for a detention centre.

I panicked and my mind went blank. I felt sick, he told the BBC, now back home in South Korea.

Youngjin is one of more than 300 Korean workers who were detained in the US state of Georgia earlier this month, in one of the largest immigration raids of Donald Trump's presidency to date. He and others interviewed for this article didn't want to reveal their real names in order to protect their identity.

US officials initially claimed the workers had been in the country illegally on incorrect visas, but eventually the two sides struck a deal allowing them to leave voluntarily without any penalties, so they could return to work there in the future.

Most of the workers were in the US temporarily, helping to build an electric car battery plant run by two South Korean companies, Hyundai and LG – part of a US push to get foreign companies to invest and manufacture more in the states.

LG said that many of its employees who were arrested had various types of visas or were under a visa waiver programme. And so they were especially shocked by the raid.

We just came out for a brief break and I could see a lot of people, officials with guns. As Koreans, we just thought they were here to arrest criminals, but then, they suddenly started arresting us, said Chul-yong, who was also detained that day.

He said they tried to explain who they were, but they were terrified: There were helicopters and drones, armored vehicles… people with guns. There were some officers pointing guns at workers, he claimed. You know those red lasers that come out of those guns? It was so shocking that some people were shivering in fear.

For the first few days, Youngjin had no idea how long he would be held for. He feared it might be months. Only after some of the workers were able to meet lawyers and consular staff, did they realize their government was working with the US authorities to get them released.

South Korea's chief trade negotiator stated that an investigation into potential human rights violations during the raid is underway. Meanwhile, Youngjin and others fear the incident will negatively impact US-South Korean relations, typically characterized by strong diplomatic ties.