POOLER, Ga. (AP) — After the detention of more than 300 South Korean workers in an immigration raid at a Georgia battery plant last week, a charter plane arrived in Atlanta on Wednesday to bring them home. But there has been no word on when the workers can leave, even after a high-level meeting between officials from the two countries.
The Koreans were among some 475 workers detained during last week’s raid at the battery factory under construction on the campus of Hyundai’s sprawling auto plant west of Savannah.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Seoul and Washington were discussing details for the workers’ return. The State Department says Secretary of State Marco Rubio and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun highlighted the U.S.-South Korea alliance and strong relationship at a hastily arranged meeting Wednesday. In a statement that did not mention the arrests, the department said the meeting focused on strengthening bilateral ties and underscoring the importance of the alliance between Washington and Seoul.
Here are some things to know about the raid and its aftermath.
A bus leaves the Folkston Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Folkston, Ga. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)
A bus leaves the Folkston Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Folkston, Ga. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)
What efforts have been made to get the South Koreans home?
A Korean Air Boeing 747-8i departed from Seoul for the U.S. to bring back detained Korean workers and landed in Atlanta on Wednesday, but officials say its return won’t happen as quickly as they had hoped. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said it was talking with U.S. officials about letting the plane return home with the released workers as soon as possible. But it said the plane cannot depart from the U.S. on Wednesday as South Korea earlier wished due to an unspecified reason involving the U.S. side.
The workers were being held at an immigration detention center in Folkston, in southeast Georgia, near the state line with Florida. It’s a 285-mile (460-kilometer) drive from there to Atlanta. Three buses were parked at the detention center Wednesday morning.
South Korean officials said they’ve been negotiating with the U.S. to win “voluntary” departures for the workers, rather than deportations that could make them ineligible to return to the U.S. for up to 10 years.
South Korean TV showed Cho Ki-joong, consul general at the Korean Embassy in Washington, speaking outside the detention center. He said some administrative steps remained to be completed but that things were going smoothly. The South Korean Foreign Ministry declined to comment on media reports that he and other diplomats met with detained workers.
Protesters stage a rally against the detention of South Korean workers during an immigration raid in Georgia, near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. The signs read “A tariff bomb and workers confinement.” (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Protesters stage a rally against the detention of South Korean workers during an immigration raid in Georgia, near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. The signs read “A tariff bomb and workers confinement.” (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
What are the immigration consequences for the workers?
U.S. authorities have said that those detained during the raid were “unlawfully working” at the plant. But Charles Kuck, a lawyer representing several of the detained South Koreans, said the “vast majority” of the workers from South Korea were doing work that is authorized under the B-1 business visitor visa program.
A B-1 visitor for business visa allows foreign workers to stay for up to six months, getting reimbursed for expenses while collecting a paycheck back home. There are limits — for example, they can supervise construction projects but can’t build anything themselves — but if it’s spelled out in a contract, they can install equipment, Los Angeles immigration lawyer Angelo Paparelli said.
Also, South Korea is one of 41 countries whose citizens can use the U.S. Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), which provides a visa waiver if they can provide “a legitimate reason’’ for their visit, and this basically gives them B-1 visa status for up to 90 days, said immigration attorney Rita Sostrin in Los Angeles.
A bus leave the Folkston Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Folkston, Ga. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)
A bus leave the Folkston Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Folkston, Ga. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)
What effect has the raid had on the area around the plant?
In Pooler, a suburb of Savannah, the sprawling Hyundai electric vehicle plant has triggered noticeable growth.
Signs in shopping center parking lots point to homes for sale in new subdivisions nearby. Construction crews work on multistory apartment buildings while finished apartments in the same complex display large banners proclaiming they’re ready for new residents.
Meanwhile, a growing number of Korean restaurants and Asian grocery stores have found a home among standard American fast-food franchises and chain eateries like Starbucks and Cracker Barrel.
Ruby Gould, president of the Korean American Association of Greater Savannah, said there’s no question that last week’s raid has raised anxiety among the area’s Korean immigrants.
“People are very upset about the incident, the arrest of the workers,” Gould said. “I’m sure there are some people in fear about this visa situation after they witnessed what’s happened.”
The U.S. Census Bureau says Pooler’s population jumped to 31,171 last year, an increase of 21% since 2020. That period includes the groundbreaking and construction of Hyundai’s EV factory.
People of Asian origin made up just 6% of the suburban city’s residents in 2020. While newer demographic data isn’t available, people in the area say Korean Americans and South Korean immigrants make up a sizable share of recent newcomers.
Pastor Robin Kim and his wife closed last month on a new home in Pooler, where Kim is starting his own church. He left the Army a few months ago after serving as a chaplain to soldiers at nearby Fort Stewart. Kim said they wanted to be a part of the Savannah suburb’s growing Korean community.
Kim, 51, has sought to calm some of the anger and anxiety in the community since last week’s raid. He noticed fewer Korean people out shopping over the weekend, and reads a constant stream of messages posted in a chat group of 1,900 local Korean residents.
“The people feel like they’re being watched, like they’re being judged by the American people,” Kim said. “They are scared right now. They don’t want to be trouble.”
He said some are resentful at the U.S. government considering the billions of dollars Hyundai has invested in the Georgia plant and the thousands of U.S. jobs it’s creating. Others worry the immigration arrests will mean increased scrutiny that hinders their own efforts to extend visas or obtain green cards.
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Brumback reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Hyung-Jin Kim in Seoul and Didi Tang and Paul Wiseman in Washington contributed to this report.
Two franchises who are polar opposites, when it comes to roster construction, will collide Thursday night at Lambeau Field with the Washington Commanders (1-0) facing off against the host Green Bay Packers (1-0).
Washington is the NFL’s oldest team with an average age of 28 years and 243 days while Green Bay is the NFl’s youngest team for the third consecutive season with an average age of 25 years and 292 days. Thursday night will also feature a reunion of old “friends” with new Packers All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons reconnecting with one of his former NFC East foes in Washington 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Parsons obliterated the Commanders’ front in his two matchups as a Dallas Cowboy in 2024: he totaled seven quarterback pressures and four-and-a-half sacks in those meetings. That production made Parsons the only player in the NFL to sack Daniels more than twice last season.
On the other side of the ball, Packers quarterback Jordan Love will become the first quarterback to start for Green Bay against Washington other than either Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers since Don Majkowski in 1988. Love also has eight consecutive regular season starts without an interception, and with a clean game Thursday night, he can tie Rodgers’ nine-game stretch in 2018 for the longest interception-less streak by a Packers quarterback in the Super Bowl era.
Will Love, Parsons and the Packers power Green Bay to their first 2-0 start since 2020? Or will Daniels lead the Commanders to their first win at Lambeau Field since 1986? Stay tuned to our live blog below to find out!
DC Comics has canceled the just-released “Red Hood” comic book series after author Gretchen Felker-Martinmade commentsabout Charlie Kirk’s death on social media.
Kirk, a conservative activist and campaigner for President Donald Trump, was shot and killed Wednesday at a speaking event at a university in Utah.
In since-deleted posts captured in screengrabs shared by other social media users, Felker-Martin allegedly wrote on social media after news of Kirk’s death: “Hope the bullet’s OK.”
Felker-Martin, who identifies as transgender, also referred to Kirk as a “Nazi b*tch.”
Kirk was outspoken in his opposition to trans rights.
In a statement shared with CNN on Thursday, a spokesperson for the company said: “At DC Comics, we place the highest value on our creators and community and affirm the right to peaceful, individual expression of personal viewpoints. Posts or public comments that can be viewed as promoting hostility or violence are inconsistent with DC’s standards of conduct.”
CNN has reached out to representatives for Felker-Martin and “Red Hood” artist Jeff Spokes for comment.
CNN, like DC Comics, is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.
Red Hood is the moniker of Jason Todd, who exists within the Gotham City-Batman subset of DC characters. The new series from Felker-Martin hit comic book store shelves on Wednesday.
Future issues of “Red Hood” were set to be released through next June, with a second volume slated to run through December 2026, according to a DC press release.
Kirk’s death prompted an outpouring of condemnation from both sides of the aisle and prompted fears of continued violent threats to political figures.
Charlie Kirk’s body was flown Thursday on Air Force Two — the vice president’s plane — from Utah to Arizona, where he lived with his family.
The 31-year-old conservative activist was shot and killed Wednesday afternoon at an event at a Utah university. He is survived by his wife, Erika, and two young children.
Vice President JD Vance was seen helping carry Kirk’s casket on a tarmac in Salt Lake City, Utah, in a video posted on social media by Tyler Bower, who worked with Kirk at his organization Turning Point USA. The vice presidential aircraft would transport Kirk’s body to Phoenix, officials familiar with the matter had said earlier.
The plane landed in Phoenix shortly before 5 p.m. local time.
Kirk’s family and some of his friends were expected to travel with Vance and second lady Usha Vance to Arizona, officials said earlier Thursday.
Air Force Two, with Vice President JD Vance and the casket of Charlie Kirk on board, takes off at Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base on Sept. 11, 2025, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
George Frey / Getty Images
Spokespeople for the vice president declined to comment.
Kirk was killed as he was speaking to a crowd at an outdoor “Prove Me Wrong” debate at Utah Valley University. A suspect has not yet been identified.
Kirk’s body was transferred from the hospital to a medical examiner’s office on Wednesday night, Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, said.
Vance noted on Wednesday that he and Kirk were friends and said Kirk advocated “in public and private” for President Trump to pick him as his running mate last year. Vance praised Turning Point USA’s role in organizing pro-Trump events last year and credited Kirk with some of the Trump administration’s personnel decisions.
“So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene,” Vance wrote. “He didn’t just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.”
