Solidarity Statement: Sur Legal Collaborative Condemns ICE Raids at Hyundai Megasite in Georgia
“This is a militant assault on workers. This does not keep our Georgia communities safe.”
Ellabell, GA – On Tuesday, September 4th, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched a massive, coordinated raid at the Hyundai megasite in Ellabell, Georgia, with additional federal activity reported in nearby Rincon and Chatham County. Sur Legal Collaborative condemns in the strongest terms this violent escalation of immigration enforcement, which resulted in the arrest and detention of at least 475 workers — people who are parents, neighbors, and essential contributors to our communities.
As an organization that has long raised concerns about labor violations and safety failures at the Hyundai megasite along with hardworking partners like Migrant Equity SouthEast (MESE) and Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJ - Atlanta), we view these raids not as isolated enforcement actions, but as part of a broader pattern of criminalizing immigrant labor while shielding corporate interests from scrutiny and accountability.
Militarized Raid, Human Toll
Beginning around 9:00 AM on Tuesday, ICE agents surrounded the plant in military-style vehicles, deploying drones, helicopters, and heavily armed agents. According to eyewitness reports, workers had their phones confiscated, were denied the ability to leave the premises, and were pressured under duress to sign documents. Doors were barred. Tear gas was deployed. Some workers were physically assaulted. This was not a workplace check — it was a militarized operation against civilian workers.
Among those detained are individuals from Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, and South Korea. Many now face prolonged detention at the Folkston ICE Processing Center (FIPC), a facility with a deeply troubling record of abuse and federal violations, and which is poised to become the largest immigrant detention site in the United States.
A Crisis of Exploitation and State Violence
This violent show of force comes on the heels of multiple safety violations and workplace deaths at the Hyundai Metaplant, including two preventable fatalities earlier this year. Instead of holding corporations accountable for dangerous conditions and labor exploitation, federal resources are being used to target the very people most at risk.
Workers at this site have long been vulnerable to wage theft, unsafe conditions, and coercive contracts. Now, many are separated from their families. They are not just statistics. They are human beings. Their only "crime" is laboring under a system that treats immigrant workers as disposable.
What We Are Witnessing is a Humanitarian and Civil Rights Emergency
Let us be clear: this is not about enforcing immigration law. This is about enabling corporations to profit off of immigrant labor while using ICE as a weapon to suppress dissent, prevent organizing, and silence those who demand safer, more just workplaces. This operation will reverberate far beyond Ellabell. It sends a chilling message to workers across the state: you can be disappeared from your workplace at any time.
The people detained are fathers, mothers, family members, and providers. Children, mothers, and fathers now wait in fear. Their communities are in mourning. This level of trauma will have consequences for generations to come.
Sur Legal Collaborative Demands:
Immediate release of all detained workers.
Full transparency from ICE, Hyundai, LG Energy Solution, and contracted partner companies regarding the raid and its coordination.
Legal and financial support for the families affected.
Accountability from elected officials and corporations and contractors responsible for enabling these abuses.
We Call on Our Communities to Act:
If you need help or want to report ICE activity, call the Migrant Equity SouthEast (MESE) hotline:
912-429-7951Donate to those directly impacted: https://bit.ly/MESEdonate
Volunteer: https://bit.ly/MeseVolunteer
We also urge everyone to contact your elected officials and demand they take action:
📞 Senator Jon Ossoff: (912) 200-9402
📞 Senator Raphael Warnock: (770) 694-7828
Our Commitment
Sur Legal Collaborative stands with every worker impacted by these raids. We are not afraid — and we will not back down. We will continue to defend the rights of immigrant workers, expose abuses, and demand that our communities be treated with the dignity they deserve.
Last year, we collaborated with partners at MESE—based in Savannah, Georgia—to host a virtual training after one construction worker died in April of 2023 while building the new Hyundai facility in Ellabell, Georgia. Now, MESE is working in tandem with powerful advocates, like Centro de los Derechos del Migrante (CDM), Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Atlanta, Demo Lab South, and more across Georgia and the U.S. to coordinate rapid response and show up for the workers affected. We encourage supporters of Sur Legal to extend their support to this network that has bravely and rapidly mobilized to provide relief, aid, and community following this crisis.
This is not just about immigration.
This is about power, profit, and the criminalization of labor. We urge all Georgians to stand in solidarity and say: Not in our state. Not in our name.
