Hyundai CEO Says White House Apologized After Trump Opposed ICE Raid

Hyundai chief executive Jose Muñoz has disclosed that a White House official reached out to apologize following the controversial ICE raid on the automaker’s factory in Savannah, Georgia.

The apology came after weeks of backlash surrounding the treatment of Korean workers and the political confusion that followed the operation.

Read: Trump Wanted Hyundai’s Korean Workers To Stay And Train Americans, Seoul Said No

The CEO remarked shortly after reports surfaced that roughly 200 of the detained Korean workers are preparing to sue the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

During a recent event in Singapore, Muñoz stopped short of naming the White House official who contacted him. He said only that the individual claimed they had not received any prior notice of the raid.

The Hyundai boss added that the Georgia governor also phoned him, reportedly saying, “I don’t know what happened, this is not state jurisdiction.”

Muñoz went on to suggest that “someone may have made a phone call and made it look like there were illegal immigrants” working at the plant.

It’s not yet clear how many of the workers Hyundai had brought in from South Korea to set up the facility held the wrong type of visa. Many were said to be on short-term or recreational visas that did not allow employment, though a significant number did possess valid work authorization.

Trump Tried To Intervene

Immediately after the raid, US President Donald Trump reportedly encouraged the more than 300 workers detained by ICE to stay in the United States, allowing them to help educate and train US workers.

That plan never materialized, and the workers were soon repatriated to South Korea. Trump later told reporters he was “very much opposed” to the raid, according to the BBC.

More: Immigration Raid Threatens Billions In U.S. EV Projects

Of the 475 workers detained by ICE agents in the raid, 317 were South Korean nationals. They were detained for about a week, reportedly kept in rooms with 60 to 80 people and forced to sleep on moldy mattresses and drink “foul” smelling water.

One worker also alleged that Hyundai employees were mocked by guards and subjected to racial slurs.

Source: BBC