On September 4, a massive immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia resulted in the detention of at least 475 workers, highlighting the chaos stemming from the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
On September 4, law enforcement agents from various state and federal agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), conducted a sweeping immigration raid at a Hyundai manufacturing facility in southeastern Georgia. This operation reportedly led to the detention of at least 475 workers, many of whom were South Korean nationals, including some individuals with legal status. This event marks the largest worksite raid in recent history.
In the aftermath of the raid, the American Immigration Council issued a statement addressing the implications of such actions. Michelle Lapointe, the legal director at the American Immigration Council, who is based in the Atlanta area, emphasized the negative impact of these raids on communities and families.
“These raids don’t make anyone safer. They terrorize workers, destabilize communities, and push families into chaos,” Lapointe stated. “This historic raid may make dramatic headlines, but it does nothing to fix the problems in our broken immigration system: a lack of legal pathways and a misguided focus on punishing workers and families who pose no threat to our communities. Raiding worksites isn’t reform; it’s political theater at the expense of families, communities, and our economy.”
Nan Wu, the director of research at the American Immigration Council, also spoke about the broader implications of such raids. “Immigrant workers are the backbone of our economy, filling critical labor gaps in manufacturing and beyond. Nationwide, 5.7% of manufacturing workers are undocumented, and here in Georgia, they make up 6.7% of that workforce,” Wu noted. “Raiding worksites instead of fixing our pathways to legal employment is cruel, wasteful, and deeply shortsighted. The chilling effect of these raids will make it less likely that people will show up to work, deepening labor shortages and hitting businesses hard at an already precarious economic moment.”
Experts from the American Immigration Council are available to discuss why worksite raids are counterproductive and harmful, as well as to propose smarter, more effective immigration solutions.
Source: Original article