By John A. Tures, Professor of Political Science, LaGrange College

On September 4, 2025, agents from Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (ICE) swooped down on construction at the Hyundai-LG plant near Savannah, Georgia, arresting more than 300 South Koreans working on the factory. Their detention and details about it have enraged the Republic of Korea, and bewildered many Americans as yet another example of heavy-handed government tactics.

“The few workers who spoke to reporters described the shock of the unexpected raid, being handcuffed and chained, and the allegedly harsh conditions of their detention,” noted PBS, relying on an AP report which included tales of being forced into cramped quarters with a toilet right next to where they ate and slept. “Their roundup and the U.S. release of video showing some Korean workers shackled with chains around their hands, ankles and waists have caused public outrage and a sense of betrayal in South Korea, a key U.S. ally.”

“The detention of hundreds of South Koreans in an ICE facility tested U.S.-South Korea ties that are important politically, militarily and economically,” report Ramy Inocencio and Jen Kwon with CBS. “South Korea is the biggest foreign direct investor in the U.S. and the sixth biggest trading partner overall, President Lee Jae Myung, visiting the White House in July, pledged $350 billion in new U.S. investment to sweeten a trade-and-tariff deal with President Trump. ‘The sentiment is obviously very, very negative,’ James Kim, Chairman and CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Seoul, told CBS News.”

And that’s from a country where many Koreans thought of the U.S. as a top ally.

It’s bound to get worse as The Guardian reports that at least one detainee was in the U.S. legally, yet was treated the way an authoritarian regime behaves.

“At least one of the Korean workers swept up in a huge immigration raid on a Hyundai Motor factory site in Georgia last week was living and working legally in the US, according to an internal federal government document obtained by the Guardian. Officials then ‘mandated’ that he agree to be removed from the US despite not having violated his visa.”

Immigration attorney Charles Kuck claims that it is illegal to detain a valid visa holder in the U.S., and that’s just one case so far.

Moreover, as PBS has pointed out, South Korean economic leaders have long pushed for the United States to reform its visa system for its workers, even as the country attempts to invest more in America. It’s hard to think of a clearer case of biting the hand that feeds you.

CBS’ report added some of the bitterness. “Lawmaker Kim Joon-hyun demanded that Cho respond to the ICE raid by launching investigations into every U.S. national teaching English in South Korea who could be working illegally on a tourist visa. ‘Are we giving our money, technology, and investment to the United States only to be treated like this?,’ Kim asked.”

And there’s the politics angle. Is it a coincidence that the raid took place in Georgia, where Governor Brian Kemp has tried so hard to cultivate ties with Korean investment, and has been on the receiving end of Trump’s verbal harassment and primary opposition for refusing to overturn the Peach State’s results in the 2020 election? If that’s the case, it’s a high price to pay for domestic partisan politics. Polls (see here, and here, and here) show a majority of Americans disapprove of ICE’s tactics.

Our government must work harder to repair the damage, which is sure to cheer Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, and other authoritarian regimes who would love to see us fall flat on our faces as a wedge is driven between America and its valuable allies.

John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. His views are his own. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu or on “X” at @johntures2. His first book “Branded” will be coming out this Fall, published by Huntsville Independent Press (https://www.huntsvilleindependent.com/).