Wary Korean EV workers in U.S. cling to their passports, visas

A massive immigration raid on a battery plant in Georgia this month continues to reverberate across the region, with workers staying home and delays mounting.

- By GABRIELLE COPPOLA

AN AGENT detains a person on Sept. 4 at the Hyundai plant in Ellabell, Ga.

Ken Shim, president of Woowon Technology Inc., says he’s had to provide paid time off to ease the stress of South Korean engineers installing equipment at a cell plant being built by Hyundai Motor Co. and Korea’s SK On Co. near Cartersville, Ga.

Shim, an American citizen who has lived in the U.S. for more than a decade, stresses that his employees are all working legally —they have visas that allow for limited business activity such as training local hires and setting up equipment. But Hyundai and LG Energy Solution Ltd. also thought workers and subcontractors at their plant outside the city of Savannah on similar visas were complying with the law. Yet on Sept. 4, they were shackled and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

“They stopped going to work. Everybody right now is staying in their hotels or houses,” Shim said in an interview. “I told my people — don’t worry about it, take it as a one-week vacation. Go shopping, you guys work hard.”

SK has advised some visa holders to avoid coming to U.S. worksites until there is more clarity around their legal status, Shim said. His workers in Georgia are hunkered down, citing rumors of immigration agents questioning people at Walmart and H Mart, a grocery chain that specializes in Asian foods. He understands their worries, and advised everyone to carry their visa and passport documents with them.

SK, the White House and the Department of Homeland Security didn’t respond to requests for comment.