Atlanta: South Korea secured assurances from the United States that its nationals held in Georgia in an immigration sweep will face no issues when reentering the U.S. in the future, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Wednesday, as a charter plane carrying them is set to leave Atlanta seven days after their detention in a U.S. immigration raid.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Cho spoke to reporters after discussions with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, confirming that the detainees will not be physically restrained on their way to the Atlanta airport to board a chartered flight home. Cho emphasized that the detainees will encounter no problems reentering the United States for work purposes in the future.
Cho, who traveled to Washington earlier this week, addressed the mass detention of more than 300 South Koreans arrested by U.S. immigration authorities last Thursday at an electric car battery plant site in Georgia. An agreement between Seoul and Washington was reached to release the detainees from facilities in Folkston, though their departure was delayed due to "unspecified U.S. circumstances."
Rubio informed Cho that the delay was largely because President Donald Trump encouraged the Koreans to stay in the country to continue their work and assist in training locally hired workers. The transportation of the detainees to the airport will occur without handcuffs, as requested by Seoul, reflecting the "deep bond" between Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
The chartered plane is scheduled to depart Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Thursday at noon, with detainees expected to travel to the airport early in the morning. In addition, Cho and Rubio discussed forming a "working group" to improve visa systems for South Korean businesses, including creating a new visa category to better support their operations in the U.S.
A total of 330 people, including 316 Koreans and 14 foreign nationals, will board the chartered flight. One South Korean has opted to remain in the U.S. The foreign nationals consist of 10 Chinese, three Japanese, and one Indonesian, with the majority of the detainees being men.