Federal and immigration authorities are conducting an enforcement action at a Hyundai facility in Georgia on Thursday.
In a statement to NBC News, the car manufacturing company confirmed the presence of law enforcement at its LG Energy Solution and Hyundai battery joint venture construction site in Bryan County.
The plant in the town of Ellabell, about 28 miles west of the city of Savannah, employs approximately 1,400 people.
“We are cooperating with law enforcement and are committed to abiding by all labor and immigration regulations,” Hyundai spokesperson Michael Stewart said in the statement.
According to a Homeland Security spokesperson, agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations are the main agencies conducting the operation.
NBC News verified a video posted on social media showing HSI agents inside the construction site at Hyundai’s facility in Ellabell. One of the agents can be heard telling workers they had a search warrant for the entire site and requested construction “be ceased immediately.”
It remains unclear how many people have been taken into custody and whether the enforcement action targeted workers at Hyundai or just at the construction site.
A worker who was there but whose name is being withheld told NBC News that agents came late Thursday morning and asked everyone on the premises if they were U.S. citizens.
Other videos on social media show agents lining workers up. In some instance, agents are seen asking workers questions and searching their bags.
DHS and ICE have not yet shared more details about the ongoing operation.
WSAV-TV, NBC’s affiliate in Savannah, Georgia, reported that hundreds of undercover law enforcement vehicles and Humvees were reportedly seen at the scene. Large buses were also seen entering the site.
Mary Beth Kennedy, a spokesperson HL-GA Battery Company, LG Energy Solution and Hyundai’s joint venture, told WSAV-TV in a statement that the company “is cooperating fully with the appropriate authorities regarding activity at our construction site. To assist their work, we have paused construction. We do not have further details at this time.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.