South Koreans suspected of working in the United States illegally were the majority of the 475 people arrested in a raid on a Hyundai-LG battery plant being built in the southern state of Georgia, a US official said Friday.<\/p>\n
The raid came as President Donald Trump cracks down on migrants across the country, vowing to carry out the largest deportation drive in US history.<\/p>\n
Thursday’s operation stemmed from a “criminal investigation into allegations of unlawful employment practices and serious federal crimes,” Steven Schrank, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent in Atlanta, said.<\/p>\n
“This, in fact, was the largest single site enforcement operation in the history of Homeland Security Investigations,” Schrank said at a press conference.<\/p>\n
South Korea has expressed “concern and regret” over the raid to the US Embassy in Seoul and urged Washington to respect the rights of its citizens.<\/p>\n
“The economic activities of our investors and the legitimate rights and interests of our nationals must not be unjustly infringed in the course of US law enforcement,” South Korean foreign ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong told reporters.<\/p>\n