Legal action comes nearly a year after arrests at Hyundai Motor-LG Energy Solution battery factory

Nine federal agencies named, including DHS, ICE and FBI

'Detained for 7 days without explanation … lasting psychological trauma'

Claims could lead to federal lawsuit if rejected

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement released footage of a raid on a battery factory construction site in Georgia jointly operated by Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution, during which more than 300 Korean workers were detained. [ICE]
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement released footage of a raid on a battery factory construction site in Georgia jointly operated by Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution, during which more than 300 Korean workers were detained. [ICE]

About 300 Korean workers arrested and detained last year at a battery factory construction site in Georgia — a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution — have begun legal proceedings to seek damages from the Donald Trump administration.

According to CNN on Tuesday (local time), the workers have started filing administrative claims against nine federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department.

An administrative claim is a required step before filing a lawsuit against the federal government in the United States. Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, victims must specify a damages amount and attempt to reach a settlement with the government; if the claim is denied, they may then file suit in federal court.

A Korean-American attorney in Georgia representing the workers said the firm plans to complete filings for all roughly 300 claimants by the end of the year.

The first claimant, identified only by the surname Kim, is seeking compensation for confiscated belongings, lost wages and emotional distress, citing unlawful detention, abuse of process and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Kim said he was subjected to "humiliating living conditions" during seven days of detention at an ICE facility and said the raid and detention have left him with "lasting psychological trauma."

Other workers who spoke with CNN said they were handcuffed and shackled at the time of their arrest without adequate explanation or interpretation, and were pressured to sign documents they could not understand. Some also said they were held in overcrowded cells.

Four workers who asked not to be identified said they had been working on valid visas and were never told why they were being taken into custody at the time of their arrest.

"Even after we were fully detained, we did not know why we had been taken or what crime we had committed," one worker said. "We didn't know anyone. Everyone was just confused."

Kim also said: "This happened to us without any proper explanation. If someone had at least told us what was going on while the process was unfolding, we might have been able to understand a little."

The attorney representing the workers said the goal of the legal action is "to make the US government recognize the enormous and unjust mistake it made, acknowledge it and apologize for it."

The US government maintains that the raid was justified. DHS told CNN that ICE had "executed judicial search warrants as part of an ongoing investigation into illegal employment practices and other serious federal crimes."

CBP also maintained its earlier position that those arrested had been found to have worked illegally in violation of their visa or immigration status conditions.

US immigration authorities raided the Hyundai Motor Group-LG Energy Solution joint battery factory construction site in Ellabell, Georgia, on Sept. 4 last year, detaining 475 workers. More than 300 of them were Korean nationals.

Footage showing heavily armed agents handcuffing and shackling Korean workers before leading them away sparked controversy in both South Korea and the United States over what many called excessive enforcement.

With Korean workers now initiating collective damages proceedings nearly a year after the detentions, questions over the legality of the raid and potential human rights violations during the detention process are expected to resurface.


sjy@heraldcorp.com