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ICE Workplace Raids and Mass Arrests at Job Sites

ICE conducted at least 40 workplace raids with over 1,100 arrests in seven months, including the largest single-site raid in DHS history at a Hyundai plant in Georgia (475 arrests). The raids triggered diplomatic incidents and devastated communities dependent on immigrant labor.

Record summary

Grade

Grade 3 of 5: Serious Rights Violation

Documented violations of internationally recognized human rights that cause substantial, measurable harm to identifiable populations. Scale and definitions

Status
Ongoing
Incident date
Record updated
Location
Washington, DC
Category
Deportation & Immigration
Legal posture
Executive action
War-crime classification
Potential
Sources
6 cited
Stable ID
workplace-raids-mass-arrests
Legal basis
ICCPR Articles 9 and 17, UDHR Article 23, Migrant Workers Convention Articles 16 and 25, Fourth Amendment (unreasonable searches and seizures)
Posture note
Workplace raids are an exercise of executive enforcement authority. Individual workers may challenge their arrests, but the raids themselves have not been blocked by any court. The $170 billion funding increase ensures continued escalation.
Victims
Over 1,100 workers arrested in workplace raids; their families and communities; businesses disrupted by loss of workforce; international workers including 300+ South Korean nationals detained at Hyundai
Alleged responsible parties
ICE, FBI, DEA, ATF, state law enforcement agencies, DHS

Key points

  • At least 40 publicly reported ICE worksite enforcement actions in the first seven months of the administration, resulting in over 1,100 arrests.
  • The Hyundai Metaplant raid in Ellabell, Georgia (September 4, 2025) was the largest single-site immigration raid in DHS history, with 475 arrests.
  • Over 300 South Korean nationals were among those arrested at the Hyundai plant, triggering a diplomatic dispute between the US and South Korea.
  • A meatpacking plant in Omaha, Nebraska saw 76 worker arrests; Nation Pizza in Illinois laid off 500 workers.
  • Raids targeted industries with high concentrations of immigrant workers: restaurants, meatpacking, construction, food warehouses, car washes, and nail salons.
  • ICE and Border Patrol are set to receive an extra $170 billion through 2029 under a July spending package.

What Happened

The Trump administration resumed large-scale workplace immigration raids in 2025, conducting at least 40 publicly reported operations in the first seven months that resulted in over 1,100 arrests. The raids targeted industries with high concentrations of immigrant workers -- restaurants, meatpacking plants, food warehouses, construction sites, car washes, and nail salons.

The Hyundai Metaplant Raid

The largest single-site immigration enforcement operation in DHS history took place on September 4, 2025 at the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, an electric vehicle production facility under construction in Ellabell, Bryan County, Georgia.

Hundreds of federal and state officers -- including ICE, FBI, DEA, ATF, and Georgia State Patrol -- descended on the construction site and arrested 475 people. Over 300 were South Korean nationals. Others included 23 Mexican nationals, 3 Japanese nationals, 10 Chinese nationals, and 1 Indonesian national. Those arrested were suspected of various immigration violations: some had entered illegally, some had visa waivers prohibiting work, and some had overstayed their visas.

The raid triggered a diplomatic dispute between the United States and South Korea, with South Korea's Foreign Minister expressing concern about the treatment of detained nationals. Japan's Foreign Ministry also raised the issue of its detained citizens.

Other Significant Raids

  • Meatpacking plant, Omaha, Nebraska: At least 76 workers arrested
  • Buona Forchetta restaurant, San Diego: 4 workers arrested in a warrant-based raid
  • Nation Pizza (DiGiorno/Nestle), suburban Chicago: Over 500 workers laid off following enforcement action

Community Impact

The American Immigration Council documented the fallout from workplace raids, noting that they devastate not only the arrested workers but entire communities. Children come home to find parents missing. Businesses lose critical workforce. Fear of raids chills economic activity in immigrant-heavy industries.

In Chicago, Investigate Midwest documented how the constant threat of ICE raids "shadows every shift" in food warehouses, with workers living in perpetual fear and employers struggling to maintain operations.

Why This Entry Is Rated Severe

  • Largest single-site raid in DHS history: 475 people arrested in one operation
  • Diplomatic incidents: Arrests of hundreds of South Korean, Japanese, and Chinese nationals created international friction
  • Scale: Over 1,100 arrests in 40+ operations in seven months
  • Community devastation: Families separated, children orphaned from parents, businesses shuttered
  • Massive funding escalation: $170 billion allocated for enforcement expansion through 2029
  • Targeting of vulnerable workers: Raids focus on industries where workers have the least bargaining power

International law engaged

InstrumentProvisionWhat it protects or prohibits
ICCPRArticle 9Right to liberty and security of person; prohibition on arbitrary arrest
ICCPRArticle 17Protection against arbitrary interference with privacy
UDHRArticle 23Right to work and to just and favorable conditions of work
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their FamiliesArticles 16, 25Right to liberty and security; equal treatment in employment conditions

Sequence of events

  1. ICE resumes worksite raids

    ICE publicly confirms the resumption of large-scale worksite immigration enforcement operations across the country.

  2. Buona Forchetta restaurant raid

    ICE executed a search warrant at Buona Forchetta, an Italian restaurant in San Diego, arresting 4 workers.

  3. CNN documents Home Depot and other business impacts

    CNN reports on the toll workplace raids are taking on American businesses and workers, including supply chain disruptions.

  4. Largest single-site raid in DHS history: Hyundai Georgia

    475 people arrested at the Hyundai Metaplant in Ellabell, Georgia, including over 300 South Korean nationals. The FBI, DEA, ATF, and Georgia State Patrol participated alongside ICE.

  5. Chicago food warehouses under constant threat

    Investigate Midwest documents how the threat of ICE raids shadows every shift in Chicago's food warehouses, with workers living in constant fear.

  6. $170 billion enforcement funding approved

    Under a July spending package approved by Congress, ICE and Border Patrol are set to receive an extra $170 billion through 2029, with an increased focus on workplace raids.

  7. Administration 'recalibrates' mass deportations after Minneapolis killings

    The Washington Post reports the Trump administration is recalibrating its deportation policy after two US citizens — Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both 37 — were killed by ICE agents during Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis (January 7 and January 24, 2026). ICE arrests dropped approximately 12% following the Minneapolis killings. The recalibration is tactical, not substantive: enforcement continues at more than 1,200 arrests per day.

  8. Border czar Homan pledges escalation: 'You ain't seen s*** yet'

    White House border czar Tom Homan, speaking at the Border Security Expo in Phoenix, Arizona, promises 'mass deportations are coming' and pledges further escalation. Homan announces 10,000 new Border Patrol agents and states current enforcement numbers — approximately 1,200 arrests per day, 2,700 deportations per week — are only the beginning. 52% of Americans say the administration is doing too much on deportations, per a May 2026 Pew Research Center survey.

Sources

  1. Understanding ICE Raids at American Workplaces — American Immigration Council archived ✓
  2. Massive immigration raid at Hyundai megaplant in Georgia leads to 475 arrests — CNN archived ✓
  3. 475 people detained in Georgia Hyundai raid by ICE — CBS News archived ✓
  4. ICE workplace raids are taking a toll on America's businesses and workers — CNN archived ✓
  5. Threat of ICE raids shadows every shift in Chicago's food warehouses — Investigate Midwest archived ✓
  6. 2025 Georgia Hyundai plant immigration raid — Wikipedia archived ✓

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