Hyundai CEO Reveals White House Issued Apology Following Trump's Opposition to ICE Raids | Carscoops

      ICE agents apprehended 475 workers during the raid, among whom 317 were South Korean nationals.

      A White House official stated that they were not informed about the ICE raid in advance.

      The governor of Georgia contacted Hyundai’s CEO after the workers were detained.

      Reports indicate that Trump encouraged the detained Hyundai workers to remain in the U.S.

      Jose Muñoz, the CEO of Hyundai, revealed that a White House official reached out to express regret following the controversial ICE raid at the company's factory in Savannah, Georgia.

      This apology followed weeks of criticism regarding the treatment of Korean workers and the ensuing political uncertainty related to the operation.

      The CEO mentioned shortly after the news broke that approximately 200 of the detained Korean workers are preparing to file a lawsuit against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

      During a recent event in Singapore, Muñoz refrained from naming the White House official who contacted him, stating only that the individual claimed they had no advance notice of the raid.

      He added that the governor of Georgia also reached out, reportedly saying, "I don’t know what happened, this is not under state jurisdiction."

      Muñoz further implied that "someone might have made a call and suggested that there were illegal immigrants" working at the facility.

      It remains unclear how many of the workers Hyundai brought from South Korea to establish the facility had the incorrect type of visa. Many were reportedly on short-term or recreational visas that prohibited employment, although a considerable number did possess valid work authorization.

      Trump Attempted to Get Involved

      Right after the raid, U.S. President Donald Trump allegedly encouraged the more than 300 workers detained by ICE to remain in the United States to assist in training U.S. workers.

      This plan did not come to fruition, and the workers were quickly sent back to South Korea. Trump later informed reporters that he was "very much opposed" to the raid, according to the BBC.

      Of the 475 workers taken by ICE during the raid, 317 were South Korean nationals. They were held for about a week, reportedly in rooms with 60 to 80 individuals, forced to sleep on moldy mattresses, and drink water with a "foul" odor.

      One worker also claimed that Hyundai personnel were ridiculed by guards and faced racial slurs.