| A Korean Air chartered plane takes off from Incheon airport, west of Seoul, on Wednesay, to leave for Atlanta to bring back hundreds of South Korean workers of Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution who remain detained at a detention center in Folkston, Georgia, following a recent immigration crackdown. (Pool photo via Yonhap) |
More than 300 South Koreans detained in a US immigration raid at a factory construction site in Georgia are scheduled to return home Thursday, after leaving the US on Wednesday on a chartered flight.
The detainees were taken into custody during a Sept. 4 immigration enforcement operation at the HL-GA battery plant — a joint venture between Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution — in what marked the largest-ever single-site raid by the Department of Homeland Security.
The Koreans will be released early Wednesday morning and transported by bus to Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to board a Korean Air chartered flight, according to diplomatic sources.
Buses carrying the detainees are expected to leave detention facilities at around 6 a.m. on Wednesday.
Since the transfers must occur under the supervision of US immigration authorities, Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel are expected to board each bus or provide an escort to the airport.
The ICE detention facility in Folkston, southern Georgia, where most of the detainees were held, is 428 kilometers from Atlanta, about a 4 1/2-hour drive. Roughly 10 women held at the nearby Stewart Detention Center are also expected to be released and transported at the same time.
The flight is set to depart between 2 and 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, and is expected to arrive in South Korea between 5 and 7 p.m. Thursday, Seoul time.
Korean Air charter flight KE2901 left Incheon Airport at 10:21 a.m. on Wednesday, heading for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia. The aircraft has 368 seats, which is enough to carry all the South Korean nationals at once.
Some foreign nationals among the 475 people arrested in Thursday’s raid, detained alongside the South Koreans, may also board the chartered flight, according to diplomatic sources.
While most of the detainees are expected to return under the form of "voluntary departure," it remains unclear if the arrangement will apply to all.
The release and departure times have been set, which shows that negotiations with the United States are mostly finished. However, neither government has announced any possible penalties, such as entry restrictions related to voluntary departure or deportation.
Seoul still sees a possibility that the detailed schedule could change.
The South Korean government, focused on protecting its citizens abroad, has been in talks with the US to secure the safe and swift release of the detainees. The government is also working with the US to make sure all South Koreans can return under voluntary departure, regardless of visa type or residency status.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun was scheduled to meet his US counterpart, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on Wednesday in Washington, where visa issues are expected to be discussed. Many South Korean companies believe these issues to be the fundamental cause of the current matter.
Speaking at the National Assembly, Cho said Monday that he would raise the issue of the lack of visas for South Korean workers seeking employment in the US, describing it as a mismatch with the vast investments South Korean companies have committed to the country.
Cho also held a roundtable on Tuesday afternoon with representatives from Korean companies based in Washington. He listened to their concerns and recommendations, including visa issues related to the recent US immigration raid, according to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul on Wednesday.
Participants included eight major companies: LG, Hyundai Motor, POSCO, Samsung Electronics, Hanwha Qcells, Hanwha Defense, SK and Korean Air. Business associations like the Korea International Trade Association and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency also took part.
"The company representatives called for the Korean government to make efforts to establish a separate quota for E-4 visas for professional Korean workers and to improve approval rates for E-2 visas for employees of Korean-invested companies in the US," the Foreign Ministry said.
"They also requested that the two governments actively consult to reaffirm clear US government guidelines on the short-term business visa (B-1 visa), which is most commonly issued when employees of our companies travel to the US on business trips, so that these guidelines can be applied in practice."
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