USA : près de 500 personnes, en majorité des Sud-Coréens, arrêtées dans une usine Hyundai-LG

Près de 500 personnes, dont une majorité de Sud-Coréens, ont été arrêtées par la police de l’immigration dans une usine de fabrication de batteries des groupes sud-coréens Hyundai et LG dans l’Etat de Géorgie (sud-est), soupçonnées de travailler illégalement aux Etats-Unis.Le raid, mené jeudi, résulte d’une “enquête pénale liée à des accusations de pratiques d’embauche illégales et à de graves infractions fédérales”, a expliqué vendredi Steven Schrank, un agent du service d’enquêtes du ministère américain de l’Intérieur, au cours d’une conférence de presse. Il s’agit de “la plus importante opération des forces de l’ordre sur un même site de toute l’histoire du service des +Homeland Security Investigations+ (+Enquêtes sur la sécurité intérieure+)”, a-t-il affirmé, s’exprimant d’Atlanta, dans l’Etat de Géorgie.Les 475 personnes arrêtées dans cette usine, située dans la ville d’Ellabell, se “trouvaient aux Etats-Unis de manière illégale” et “travaillaient illégalement”, a affirmé M. Schrank, soulignant que la “majorité” d’entre elles étaient de nationalité sud-coréenne.Le président américain Donald Trump, interrogé par la presse vendredi après-midi dans le Bureau ovale, a déclaré: “Je dirai qu’il s’agissait d’étrangers en situation d’illégalité, et que (la police de l’immigration) faisait simplement son travail”.Sollicité par l’AFP aux Etats-Unis, le constructeur automobile a répondu être “au courant du récent incident” dans cette usine, “surveiller étroitement la situation et s’employer à comprendre les circonstances spécifiques” de cette affaire.”A ce stade, nous comprenons qu’aucune des personnes détenues n’était directement employée par le groupe Hyundai”, a-t-il poursuivi, assurant donner “priorité à la sécurité et au bien-être de quiconque travaille sur ce site et au respect de toutes les législations et réglementations”.De son côté, LG Energy Solution a affirmé suivre “de près la situation et recueillir toutes les informations pertinentes”.”Notre priorité absolue est toujours d’assurer la sécurité et le bien-être de nos employés et de nos partenaires. Nous coopérerons pleinement avec les autorités compétentes”, a ajouté cette entreprise.La Corée du Sud, la quatrième économie d’Asie, est un important constructeur automobile et producteur de matériel électronique avec de nombreuses usines aux Etats-Unis.- Mission diplomatique -Une source proche du dossier avait annoncé quelques heures plus tôt, de Séoul, qu'”environ 300 Sud-Coréens” avaient été arrêtés pendant une opération du Service de l’immigration et des douanes américain (ICE) sur un site commun à Hyundai et LG en Géorgie.De son côté, l’agence de presse sud-coréenne Yonhap avait écrit que l’ICE avait interpellé jusqu’à 450 personnes au total.Le ministère sud-coréen des Affaires étrangères avait également fait d’état d’une descente de police sur le “site d’une usine de batteries d’une entreprise (sud-coréenne) en Géorgie”.”Plusieurs ressortissants coréens ont été placés en détention”, avait simplement ajouté Lee Jae-woong, le porte-parole du ministère.Séoul a envoyé du personnel diplomatique sur place, avec notamment pour mission de créer un groupe de travail afin de faire face à la situation.Les autorités sud-coréennes ont également fait part à l’ambassade des Etats-Unis à Séoul “de (leur) inquiétude et de (leurs) regrets” concernant cette affaire.En juillet, la Corée du Sud s’était engagée à investir 350 milliards de dollars sur le territoire américain à la suite des menaces sur les droits de douane de Donald Trump.Celui-ci a été élu pour un second mandat en novembre 2024, en particulier sur la promesse de mettre en oeuvre le plus important programme d’expulsion d’immigrés de l’histoire de son pays.Depuis, son gouvernement cible avec la plus grande fermeté les quelque onze millions de migrants sans papiers présents aux Etats-Unis. Au prix, selon des ONG, des membres de la société civile et jusqu’aux Nations unies, de fréquentes violations des droits humains.D’Atlanta, le Bureau de l’alcool, du tabac, des armes à feu et des explosifs (ATF) a expliqué sur X avoir participé à l’arrestation d’environ 450 “étrangers en situation irrégulière” au cours d’une opération dans une usine de batteries, une coentreprise entre Hyundai et LG.Selon son site internet, Hyundai a investi 20,5 milliards de dollars depuis son entrée sur le marché américain en 1986 et compte y investir 21 milliards supplémentaires entre 2025 et 2028.L’usine d’Ellabell a été officiellement inaugurée en mars, avec l’objectif de produire jusqu’à 500.000 véhicules électriques et hybrides par an des marques Hyundai, Kia et Genesis. Elle devrait employer 8.500 personnes d’ici à 2031.

USA : près de 500 personnes, en majorité des Sud-Coréens, arrêtées dans une usine Hyundai-LG

Près de 500 personnes, dont une majorité de Sud-Coréens, ont été arrêtées par la police de l’immigration dans une usine de fabrication de batteries des groupes sud-coréens Hyundai et LG dans l’Etat de Géorgie (sud-est), soupçonnées de travailler illégalement aux Etats-Unis.Le raid, mené jeudi, résulte d’une “enquête pénale liée à des accusations de pratiques d’embauche illégales et à de graves infractions fédérales”, a expliqué vendredi Steven Schrank, un agent du service d’enquêtes du ministère américain de l’Intérieur, au cours d’une conférence de presse. Il s’agit de “la plus importante opération des forces de l’ordre sur un même site de toute l’histoire du service des +Homeland Security Investigations+ (+Enquêtes sur la sécurité intérieure+)”, a-t-il affirmé, s’exprimant d’Atlanta, dans l’Etat de Géorgie.Les 475 personnes arrêtées dans cette usine, située dans la ville d’Ellabell, se “trouvaient aux Etats-Unis de manière illégale” et “travaillaient illégalement”, a affirmé M. Schrank, soulignant que la “majorité” d’entre elles étaient de nationalité sud-coréenne.Le président américain Donald Trump, interrogé par la presse vendredi après-midi dans le Bureau ovale, a déclaré: “Je dirai qu’il s’agissait d’étrangers en situation d’illégalité, et que (la police de l’immigration) faisait simplement son travail”.Sollicité par l’AFP aux Etats-Unis, le constructeur automobile a répondu être “au courant du récent incident” dans cette usine, “surveiller étroitement la situation et s’employer à comprendre les circonstances spécifiques” de cette affaire.”A ce stade, nous comprenons qu’aucune des personnes détenues n’était directement employée par le groupe Hyundai”, a-t-il poursuivi, assurant donner “priorité à la sécurité et au bien-être de quiconque travaille sur ce site et au respect de toutes les législations et réglementations”.De son côté, LG Energy Solution a affirmé suivre “de près la situation et recueillir toutes les informations pertinentes”.”Notre priorité absolue est toujours d’assurer la sécurité et le bien-être de nos employés et de nos partenaires. Nous coopérerons pleinement avec les autorités compétentes”, a ajouté cette entreprise.La Corée du Sud, la quatrième économie d’Asie, est un important constructeur automobile et producteur de matériel électronique avec de nombreuses usines aux Etats-Unis.- Mission diplomatique -Une source proche du dossier avait annoncé quelques heures plus tôt, de Séoul, qu'”environ 300 Sud-Coréens” avaient été arrêtés pendant une opération du Service de l’immigration et des douanes américain (ICE) sur un site commun à Hyundai et LG en Géorgie.De son côté, l’agence de presse sud-coréenne Yonhap avait écrit que l’ICE avait interpellé jusqu’à 450 personnes au total.Le ministère sud-coréen des Affaires étrangères avait également fait d’état d’une descente de police sur le “site d’une usine de batteries d’une entreprise (sud-coréenne) en Géorgie”.”Plusieurs ressortissants coréens ont été placés en détention”, avait simplement ajouté Lee Jae-woong, le porte-parole du ministère.Séoul a envoyé du personnel diplomatique sur place, avec notamment pour mission de créer un groupe de travail afin de faire face à la situation.Les autorités sud-coréennes ont également fait part à l’ambassade des Etats-Unis à Séoul “de (leur) inquiétude et de (leurs) regrets” concernant cette affaire.En juillet, la Corée du Sud s’était engagée à investir 350 milliards de dollars sur le territoire américain à la suite des menaces sur les droits de douane de Donald Trump.Celui-ci a été élu pour un second mandat en novembre 2024, en particulier sur la promesse de mettre en oeuvre le plus important programme d’expulsion d’immigrés de l’histoire de son pays.Depuis, son gouvernement cible avec la plus grande fermeté les quelque onze millions de migrants sans papiers présents aux Etats-Unis. Au prix, selon des ONG, des membres de la société civile et jusqu’aux Nations unies, de fréquentes violations des droits humains.D’Atlanta, le Bureau de l’alcool, du tabac, des armes à feu et des explosifs (ATF) a expliqué sur X avoir participé à l’arrestation d’environ 450 “étrangers en situation irrégulière” au cours d’une opération dans une usine de batteries, une coentreprise entre Hyundai et LG.Selon son site internet, Hyundai a investi 20,5 milliards de dollars depuis son entrée sur le marché américain en 1986 et compte y investir 21 milliards supplémentaires entre 2025 et 2028.L’usine d’Ellabell a été officiellement inaugurée en mars, avec l’objectif de produire jusqu’à 500.000 véhicules électriques et hybrides par an des marques Hyundai, Kia et Genesis. Elle devrait employer 8.500 personnes d’ici à 2031.

US agents arrest 475 in raid on Hyundai-LG plant

South Koreans suspected of working in the United States illegally were the majority of 475 people arrested in a raid on a Hyundai-LG battery plant being built in the southern state of Georgia, a US official said Friday.Steven Schrank, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent in Atlanta, said the operation was the largest single site raid carried out so far as part of President Donald Trump’s nationwide anti-migrant drive.Thursday’s raid stemmed from a “criminal investigation into allegations of unlawful employment practices and serious federal crimes” at the Hyundai Motor-LG Energy Solution joint venture plant in the town of Ellabell, Schrank told reporters.”This was not an immigration operation where agents went into the premises, rounded up folks and put them on buses,” he said. “This has been a multi-month criminal investigation.”Asked by reporters at the White House about the raid, Trump said: “I would say that they were illegal aliens, and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) was just doing its job.”South Korea expressed “concern and regret” over the raid, and urged Washington to respect the rights of its citizens.”The economic activities of our investors and the legitimate rights and interests of our nationals must not be unjustly infringed in the course of US law enforcement,” South Korean foreign ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong said.Schrank said the 475 arrested were “illegally present in the United States” and “working unlawfully.””There was a majority of Korean nationals,” he said, adding that it was the “largest single site enforcement operation in the history of Homeland Security Investigations.”In Seoul, a source familiar with the matter told AFP that around 300 South Korean nationals had been detained.Schrank said he could not give a breakdown of how many of those arrested at the plant, which is intended to supply batteries for electric vehicles, were employed by Hyundai, LG or subcontractors.Those taken into custody have been turned over to ICE for potential removal, he said.- Billions in investment -Schrank said some of those detained had illegally crossed the US border, others arrived with visas that prohibited them from working and others overstayed their work visas.”This operation underscores our commitment to protecting jobs for Georgians and Americans, ensuring a level playing field for businesses that comply with the law, safeguarding the integrity of our economy and protecting workers from exploitation,” he said.South Korea, Asia’s fourth biggest economy, is a key automaker and electronics producer with multiple plants in the United States.South Korean companies have invested billions of dollars to build factories in America in a bid to access the US market and avoid tariff threats from Trump.President Lee Jae Myung met Trump during a visit last month, and Seoul pledged $350 billion in US investment in July.Trump has pledged to revive the manufacturing sector in the United States, while also vowing to deport millions of undocumented migrants.In a statement, Hyundai said it was “closely monitoring” the situation at the Georgia construction site and “working to understand the specific circumstances.””As of today, it is our understanding that none of those detained is directly employed by Hyundai Motor Company,” the firm said.LG Energy Solution said it was “gathering all relevant details.””We will fully cooperate with the relevant authorities,” it added.

US agents arrest 475 in raid on Hyundai-LG plant

South Koreans suspected of working in the United States illegally were the majority of 475 people arrested in a raid on a Hyundai-LG battery plant being built in the southern state of Georgia, a US official said Friday.Steven Schrank, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent in Atlanta, said the operation was the largest single site raid carried out so far as part of President Donald Trump’s nationwide anti-migrant drive.Thursday’s raid stemmed from a “criminal investigation into allegations of unlawful employment practices and serious federal crimes” at the Hyundai Motor-LG Energy Solution joint venture plant in the town of Ellabell, Schrank told reporters.”This was not an immigration operation where agents went into the premises, rounded up folks and put them on buses,” he said. “This has been a multi-month criminal investigation.”Asked by reporters at the White House about the raid, Trump said: “I would say that they were illegal aliens, and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) was just doing its job.”South Korea expressed “concern and regret” over the raid, and urged Washington to respect the rights of its citizens.”The economic activities of our investors and the legitimate rights and interests of our nationals must not be unjustly infringed in the course of US law enforcement,” South Korean foreign ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong said.Schrank said the 475 arrested were “illegally present in the United States” and “working unlawfully.””There was a majority of Korean nationals,” he said, adding that it was the “largest single site enforcement operation in the history of Homeland Security Investigations.”In Seoul, a source familiar with the matter told AFP that around 300 South Korean nationals had been detained.Schrank said he could not give a breakdown of how many of those arrested at the plant, which is intended to supply batteries for electric vehicles, were employed by Hyundai, LG or subcontractors.Those taken into custody have been turned over to ICE for potential removal, he said.- Billions in investment -Schrank said some of those detained had illegally crossed the US border, others arrived with visas that prohibited them from working and others overstayed their work visas.”This operation underscores our commitment to protecting jobs for Georgians and Americans, ensuring a level playing field for businesses that comply with the law, safeguarding the integrity of our economy and protecting workers from exploitation,” he said.South Korea, Asia’s fourth biggest economy, is a key automaker and electronics producer with multiple plants in the United States.South Korean companies have invested billions of dollars to build factories in America in a bid to access the US market and avoid tariff threats from Trump.President Lee Jae Myung met Trump during a visit last month, and Seoul pledged $350 billion in US investment in July.Trump has pledged to revive the manufacturing sector in the United States, while also vowing to deport millions of undocumented migrants.In a statement, Hyundai said it was “closely monitoring” the situation at the Georgia construction site and “working to understand the specific circumstances.””As of today, it is our understanding that none of those detained is directly employed by Hyundai Motor Company,” the firm said.LG Energy Solution said it was “gathering all relevant details.””We will fully cooperate with the relevant authorities,” it added.

Trump to blacklist countries for imprisoning Americans

US President Donald Trump moved Friday to create a blacklist of countries that Washington says unjustly detain Americans, spelling out harsh punishments including bans on travel.In an executive order, Trump said the United States will now designate “state sponsors of wrongful detention,” similar to the powerful tool of branding countries as state sponsors of terrorism.”With this EO you are signing today, you are drawing a line in the sand that US citizens will not be used as bargaining chips,” Trump aide Sebastian Gorka told reporters in the Oval Office.The Trump administration did not immediately name countries for the new blacklist, but a senior official said that China, Iran and Afghanistan would be under review as they “persistently participate in hostage diplomacy.”The countries designated by the State Department would be subject to sanctions and US export controls, and officials involved in the imprisonment would be barred from entry.In one measure rarely taken by the United States, officials said that the State Department could bar US citizens from visiting countries put on the blacklist.Currently the United States only strictly bans its citizens from traveling to North Korea, a step taken after American student Otto Warmbier was detained in 2016 in the totalitarian state and released the following year in a vegetative state, dying shortly afterward.The new blacklist can also target groups that effectively control territory but are not recognized as states.The United States across administrations has put a top priority on freeing Americans overseas, negotiating prisoner swaps to free high-profile detainees including in Russia.Trump has trumpeted his record on freeing Americans, with officials saying 72 prisoners have been released overseas under his watch. A US official said that the new executive order would make it easier to take action without going through a “burdensome” process.The United States can also remove countries if it decides they have come into compliance.The State Department routinely helps Americans detained overseas and then assesses whether they were jailed for wrongful reasons, including as political bargaining chips.Under former president Joe Biden, China released all Americans considered wrongfully detained in part in return for the United States loosening a warning against Americans traveling to the Asian power, advice that had hurt the business climate.

Israel army levels high-rise in Gaza City offensive

The Israeli military destroyed a high-rise in Gaza City on Friday, shortly after announcing it would target tall buildings identified as being used by Hamas ahead of its planned seizure of the Palestinian territory’s biggest city.Despite mounting pressure at home and abroad to halt its nearly two-year offensive in Gaza, Israel has been calling up reservists, intensifying its bombardments and closing in on Gaza City.In a statement Friday, the military said it had “identified significant Hamas terrorist activity within a wide variety of infrastructure sites in Gaza City, and particularly in high-rise buildings”, adding it would target those sites “in the coming days”.Less than an hour later, it said it had struck one such high-rise, accusing Hamas of using it “to advance and execute attacks against troops in the area”.AFP footage showed the Mushtaha Tower in the city’s Al-Rimal neighbourhood collapsing after a massive explosion at its base, sending a thick cloud of smoke and dust billowing into the sky.AFP photographs of the aftermath showed Palestinians inspecting the rubble and debris of the collapsed building.The army said that before the strike, “precautionary measures were taken in order to mitigate harm to civilians”, including prior warnings.Arej Ahmed, a 50-year-old displaced Palestinian who lives in a tent in the southwest of Gaza City, told AFP that her husband “saw residents of the Mushtaha Tower throwing their belongings from the upper floors to take them and flee before the strike”.”Less than half an hour after the evacuation orders, the tower was bombed,” she said by telephone.- ‘No safe place’ -Gaza civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal accused Israel of carrying out “a policy of forced displacement against civilians” in its targeting of high-rise buildings.The agency said Israeli strikes in and around Gaza City killed at least 19 people, among at least 42 Palestinians killed across the territory on Friday.Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was unable to comment on those reports.Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.”The news about Israel beginning to bomb towers and apartment buildings is terrifying,” said Ahmed Abu Wutfa, 45, who lives in his relatives’ partially destroyed fifth-floor apartment in western Gaza City.”My children are terrified, and so am I. There is no safe place — we only hope that death comes quickly.”A member of Hamas’s political bureau, Izzat al-Rishq, said Israeli claims the militant group was operating in the high-rises were “nothing but flimsy pretexts and blatant lies.”The United Nations estimates that nearly one million people live in Gaza City and its surroundings, an area where it last month declared a famine.World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged Israel to stop the “catastrophe” of people starving to death in Gaza, where the health ministry says more than 370 people have died from malnutrition since the war began.Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot meanwhile told AFP that the European Union was “not living up to its responsibilities in this enormous humanitarian crisis”.- ‘Gates of hell’ -Defence Minister Israel Katz said “the bolt has now been removed from the gates of hell in Gaza,” vowing to intensify operations until Hamas accepts Israel’s terms to end the war.Israel expects its new offensive will displace around a million people towards the south.Seven hundred days after its attack on Israel that sparked the war, Hamas’s armed wing released footage purporting to show two hostages seized in the assault alive in Gaza City late last month.The video shows hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal in a car calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to carry out the planned offensive on Gaza City.It later shows him meeting another captive, Alon Ohel — the first time he has been seen in a video since his abduction during the October 2023 attack.The prime minister’s office said Netanyahu had spoken with the families of both hostages.”No evil propaganda video will weaken us or divert us from our determination” to crush Hamas and free the hostages, Netanyahu said in comments released by his office.Relatives and supporters of the hostages rallied in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on Friday to demand a deal to secure their release.Of the 251 hostages seized during the Hamas attack, 47 are still in Gaza, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,300 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.