Hyundai ICE raid highlights focus on worksites employing migrants

Geoff Bennett:

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that sweeping immigration raids in California can continue, lifting a lower court ruling that barred arrests without suspicion by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

It follows a raid on Friday at a car manufacturing plant in Georgia that led to nearly 500 arrests.

Amna Nawaz:

That raid by ICE at a Hyundai facility in Georgia marked the largest single site raid this country has ever seen.

Let's start there with Jasmine Garsd of NPR.

Great to see you. Thanks for being here.

Jasmine Garsd, NPR:

Thank you for having me.

Amna Nawaz:

So let's start with that Georgia raid. What do we know about who was taken into custody in that raid and what their legal status is?

Jasmine Garsd:

Absolutely.

So we know it is close to 500 workers, most of them South Korean. DHS officials have said that it's a mixed bag when it comes to their status. Some people crossed the border illegally, other people overstayed visas. Other people had visas that didn't allow them to work legally in the U.S.

And we know that there have been discussions with the South Korean government for about 300 of the workers to be chartered back.

Amna Nawaz:

We did ask DHS about the raid. They said in a statement to us that they're looking into allegations of what they said are unlawful employment practices.

They also said, in part: "The operation underscores our commitment to protecting jobs for Georgians, ensuring a level playing field for businesses that comply with the law, safeguarding the integrity of our economy, and protecting workers from exploitation."

So, Jasmine, say a little bit more about what laws specifically they're saying were broken here.

Jasmine Garsd:

Absolutely.

I mean, they're saying that this is about working without legal papers, without authorization to work. And what I think is really interesting is, this is where President Donald Trump — there's these two competing movements for him, right? On the one hand, he is trying very hard to get foreign investment into the U.S. He has been working on this relationship with South Korea.

And on the other hand, he has this agenda of mass deportation. And this is kind of where the two are colliding.

Amna Nawaz:

But it's worth pointing out raids like this, large-scale workplace raids, are not as common under the Trump administration. It's not a big part of the agenda. Does this mean we're going to see more of these or is this an outlier?

Jasmine Garsd:

I mean, it's very interesting to me that this happened in Georgia, in a red state. There was, the same day that this happened, another raid in Upstate New York at a food plant where some 40 workers were also arrested. That got overshadowed by what happened in Georgia.

You're right. We haven't seen it. The Trump administration has said that they want to go after employers who employ undocumented or unauthorized labor, but this is really the first time we see that under the Trump administration. We will have to see if it's a pattern.

Amna Nawaz:

I want to ask you too about some of the reporting you have been doing on the ground in Florida about the so-called Alligator Alcatraz ICE detention center there. We know a judge had ordered that it be shut down because environmental groups were suing. That was then overturned, so they're still allowed to operate.

What did you find in your reporting about what's going on inside that facility?

Jasmine Garsd:

Absolutely horrific conditions.

I spoke to lawyers. I spoke to family members of people who were detained in there. I even physically went to the outsides. You can't go in, but the outsides of Alligator Alcatraz. And just being out there, I was at a protest where almost immediately one protester passed out from the heat. I was out for 15 minutes and I was just drenched in sweat.

And I'm telling you that because I have been talking to lawyers and family members who are talking about electricity going in and out, and so not enough air conditioning, a lack of water, water having to be brought in, widespread vermin, infectious disease.

Lawyers throughout this process have talked to me about infectious diseases like skin diseases and respiratory diseases that really breed in that kind of environment.

Amna Nawaz:

We know that stays open for now, but that court process continues to unfold.

Meanwhile, there's news today from the Supreme Court I have to ask you about, which was the lifting of restrictions on ICE agents carrying out raids in Los Angeles. What kind of impact is that going to have?

Jasmine Garsd:

I mean, listen, what we're seeing is these quotas, right? It's been said that the government is aiming for 3,000 daily arrests, a million deportations in the first year.

And the numbers we're seeing in detention right now, it consistently hovers around 70 percent of immigrants in immigration detention right now have no criminal conviction. And so the question is, how are these people being selected? How are they being picked up? And there are so many accusations that it's racial profiling.

I think we're going to have to keep seeing what happens here on the ground, but, again, 70 percent of people in detention, in immigration detention, do not have a criminal conviction.

Amna Nawaz:

That's a striking number. I know you will continue to report on this.

Jasmine Garsd of NPR, thank you so much.

Jasmine Garsd:

Thanks for having me.