Protesters rally outside Hyundai mega-site after massive ICE raid

Protesters gathered outside the Hyundai mega-site near Savannah this weekend, calling for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement

(NBC)- Protesters gathered outside the Hyundai mega-site near Savannah this weekend, calling for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement after what officials say was the largest ICE raid in Georgia history.

Holding signs and chanting “Abolish ICE,” demonstrators from local organizations and national groups said they came to show support for the hundreds of workers taken into custody during last week’s raid. Homeland Security officials confirmed that 457 employees were detained, with a majority believed to be South Korean nationals.

“The biggest ICE raid in ICE history in Georgia, in our own backyard. We have to stand up. We have to protest,” said Estaban Hernandez, an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation. “We have to show the workers that we have their backs.”

For some protesters, the raid felt especially personal. “I’m a Korean worker and I feel connected to this one, because we suspect 300 workers taken by ICE were Koreans,” said Kim, one demonstrator. “But more importantly, not just because they were Koreans — we are workers. An attack on one of us, of any race or nationality, is an attack on all of us.”

Organizers said the decision to rally outside Hyundai was intentional, sending a message of solidarity to the detained workers. “We’re here today in front of the Hyundai plant to send a clear message that we’re not going to turn our back on our brothers and sisters who get locked up,” Hernandez said. “We’re going to go anywhere that ICE wants to go. We’re going to protest against ICE.”