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Know This Know, September 12, 2025: Hyundai Factory Raid Raises Questions About Worksite Enforcement and New Calls for Legal Pathways

By September 12, 2025September 15th, 2025No Comments

Top News: Hyundai Factory Raid Raises Questions About Worksite Enforcement and New Calls for Legal Pathways

A Hyundai-LG battery factory in Georgia was raided by ICE last week and 475 workers, mostly Korean nationals, were arrested on suspicion of visa violations. It was the largest worksite enforcement operation this year.

Lawyers for some of the workers said they were engineers and equipment installers brought in for the highly specialized work of getting an electric battery plant online, and South Korean politicians and media outlets criticized the raids as damaging to ties between the countries:


The raid sent a warning to employers nationwide, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board wrote, illustrating that under current policies “every employer is a potential target of an ICE raid.”

The WSJ argues this enforcement-first approach hurts the labor market and weakens the economy. They call on Congress to expand legal pathways for work instead of shrinking the foreign-born workforce.

Bloomberg columnist and member of the Bloomberg editorial board Clive Crook wrote “the Hyundai plant ICE raid proves immigration laws need fixing,” saying we need to “clean up the preposterous mess of U.S. immigration law before attempting to enforce it so strictly.”

The message sent by the raid could also result in fewer jobs for Americans as it could create “some kind of chilling or deterring effect, or at least give people pause on the type of investments the Trump administration says that it wants,” Colin Grabow, a trade expert at the Cato Institute told Newsweek.

The same day as the Hyundai raid, a snack bar manufacturer in upstate New York was also raided and 57 arrested, one of the biggest workplace raids in the state since President Trump’s deportation crackdown began.  

New numbers released by the Trump administration at the end of August again showed the majority (70%) of those in ICE detention lack criminal convictions. Libertarian think tank the Cato institute compiled this break down over the summer:

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More from the ABIC Network:

NYTimes: Mounting Deportations Meet Slow Hiring

Miami chef Cesar Zapata has relied on Nicaraguan, Guatemalan, and Honduran workers to staff his restaurants, especially since the pandemic, but is now struggling to fill jobs as Florida’s immigration crackdown drives workers away.

He is personally subbing for one of his cooks, an Ecuadorian immigrant who left because she didn’t want to risk going to work.

“Last year was one of our best years ever, and this is one of our worst years,” Zapata said.

In August, Zapata signed our letter calling for work permits for immigrant workers and a solution to the labor shortages with other chefs and Seat the Table, a collaboration between ABIC Action, the James Beard Foundation, Independent Restaurant Association, Denver Eats, the Texas Restaurant Association and the Latino Restaurant Association, plus more national and local organizations.

News Briefing:

Idaho Capital Sun: Farmers Advocate For Reform, Workers Fight For Survival Amid Trump Immigration Crackdown

In Idaho, dairy farmer Darren Taber is struggling to keep his 900-cow family farm running amid immigration crackdowns that have left workers fearful.

Taber, who has farmed for more than 25 years, is again calling on Congress to pass long-stalled immigration reforms. “Yeah, get the criminals out,” Taber said. “But your farmworkers are not your criminals.”

Immigrants play an important role across many sectors, and Rick Naerebout, CEO of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association said it’s vital to have a “conversation around immigration reform so that we don’t damage our economy.”




Newsweek: Immigrant New York Farm Workers Issue Warning Over ICE Raids

New York’s farms are responsible for an $8 billion industry and major production of yogurt and apples. They are facing labor shortages as ICE raids under the Trump administration target undocumented workers.

Experts warn the state’s 67,000 farmworkers are essential to keeping farms running, with workers reporting constant fear of arrest while going to work, shopping, or taking kids to school.

“As business owners and employers in agriculture, we are very dependent on migrant workers,” Dennis Rak, who owns Double A Vineyards in West New York, said.

“These are jobs that we’d offer to any person, they are not bad-paying jobs, they’re $20 an hour or more, but no one wants to do any sort of manual labor anymore. So it’s critical for agriculture to have access to a source of labor that will do this.”

Survey: Houston Residents Support Legal Pathways for Immigrants

A Rice University survey of 10,000 Houston-area residents found that a large majority of residents believe that the immigration system is broken, and most prefer expanding legal pathways to citizenship over mass deportations.

The majority of residents also opposed deporting undocumented immigrants in different scenarios, with the exception of when an individual is arrested for a crime.

Battles in the Courts:
AP: Supreme Court Lifts Restrictions on LA Immigration Stops

The Supreme Court has allowed federal agents to resume sweeping immigration operations in Los Angeles, lifting a judge’s order that barred ICE from stopping people based on race, language, job, or location.

The 6–3 conservative majority said the lower court overstepped,  Justice Kavanaugh warned that restrictions would chill enforcement efforts.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, saying the decision threatens constitutional freedoms and exposes many people to unjust treatment.

Axios: Judge Temporarily Halts Trump Admin Move to End Migration Program for People from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela

A federal judge in Boston has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending the CHNV Program, which grants temporary legal status and work permits to people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

The judge ruled that revoking status without case-by-case review undermines the rule of law and could force over 500,000 people to face danger, family separation, or deportation. People in the program were facing possible deportation after its scheduled end in April. The administration plans to continue challenging “every legal option.”

Enforcement News:
ICE Launches ‘Operation Midway Blitz’ Targeting Immigrants In Chicago

DHS has launched its immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, with ICE leading arrests. ICE detained older Latino men, including a popular flower vendor, a man walking outside a gas station, and another person out for a walk, witnesses reported.

Immigrant advocates note ICE’s new tactics: stopping people on the street and at bus stops rather than targeting specific homes or court appearances. Local officials warn this marks a shift toward more visible, random arrests.

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