South Korean workers detained in immigration raid leave Atlanta and head home

"A plane carrying more than 300 workers from South Korea who were detained during an immigration raid at a battery factory in Georgia last week left Atlanta shortly before noon Thursday, bound for South Korea. The workers traveled by bus from a detention center in southeast Georgia to Atlanta earlier in the day for their flight, which is expected to land in South Korea on Friday afternoon."

"South Korea's Foreign Ministry said the detainees released by U.S. authorities included 316 Koreans, 10 Chinese nationals, three Japanese nationals and one Indonesian. The workers were among about 475 people detained during last week's raid at the battery factory under construction on the campus of Hyundai's sprawling auto plant west of Savannah. They had been held at an immigration detention center in Folkston, 285 miles (460 kilometers) southeast of Atlanta."

"While those discussions were ongoing, U.S. officials started to return the detainees' belongings. Then, however, "everything suddenly halted," Lee said, adding that they were told that was due to instructions from the White House. "President Trump had directed that the (detainees) should be allowed to return home freely and those who didn't want to go didn't have to," he said."

A plane carrying more than 300 workers who were detained during an immigration raid at a battery factory in Georgia departed Atlanta bound for South Korea. The detainees traveled by bus from a detention center in southeast Georgia and were expected to land Friday afternoon. South Korea's Foreign Ministry said the released detainees included 316 Koreans, 10 Chinese nationals, three Japanese nationals and one Indonesian. About 475 people were detained in the raid at the Hyundai battery factory under construction near Savannah. The detainees had been held at the Folkston immigration detention center. President Lee Jae Myung called for U.S. visa-system improvements and described disputes over handcuffing, departure status and a White House instruction that paused administrative procedures.

Read at www.npr.org