BRYAN COUNTY, Ga. — One year after hundreds of federal agents descended on the Hyundai megasite in Bryan County and detained approximately 475 workers, the federal criminal investigation has reportedly ended without a single charge being filed.
The massive immigration operation occurred on Sept. 4, 2025, at the HL-GA Battery plant under construction on Hyundai’s manufacturing campus in Ellabell.
At the time, Homeland Security Investigations described it as the largest single-site enforcement operation in the agency’s history.
More than 400 federal, state and local officers participated.
Federal authorities said the raid followed a monthslong investigation into suspected unlawful employment practices and an alleged conspiracy to harbor or shield workers who were not authorized to work in the United States.
A Department of Justice spokesperson has now confirmed that no charges were filed in connection with the criminal investigation.
Federal court records reportedly list the case as closed.
None of the companies accused of employing the workers have been charged.
The result leaves a striking contrast between the scale of the raid and its legal outcome: approximately 475 workers were detained, operations were disrupted and the incident drew international attention—but one year later, the criminal case has ended without charges against an employer.
Most of those detained were South Korean nationals. Many were reportedly engineers and technical specialists working to install equipment at the battery facility.
Questions later emerged over whether some workers had entered the country legally but were performing duties not permitted under their visas or visa-waiver status.
More than 300 South Korean workers were eventually released and returned to South Korea following negotiations between the two countries. Some later returned to Georgia to resume work at the facility.
The Justice Department’s confirmation applies to the federal criminal investigation surrounding the worksite. Any individual immigration proceedings involving detained workers were handled separately.
Yolonda Harris
News Now Georgia
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