this post was submitted on 15 Sep 2025
102 points (96.4% liked)

Leopards Ate My Face

7769 readers
1084 users here now

Rules:

  1. The mods are fallible; if you've been banned or had a post/comment removed, please appeal.
  2. Off-topic posts will be removed. If you don't know what "Leopards ate my Face" is, try reading this post.
  3. If the reason your post meets Rule 1 isn't in the source, you must add a source in the post body (not the comments) to explain this.
  4. Posts should use high-quality sources, and posts about an article should have the same headline as that article. You may edit your post if the source changes the headline. For a rough idea, check out this list.
  5. For accessibility reasons, an image of text must either have alt text or a transcription in the post body.
  6. Reposts within 1 year or the Top 100 of all time are subject to removal.
  7. This is not exclusively a US politics community. You're encouraged to post stories about anyone from any place in the world at any point in history as long as you meet the other rules.
  8. All Lemmy.World Terms of Service apply.

Also feel free to check out !leopardsatemyface@lemm.ee (also active).

Icon credit C. Brück on Wikimedia Commons.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world 27 points 1 day ago (3 children)

The US rounded up hundreds of Koreans who were overseeing the construction of a new factory a week or two ago. They had the correct visas for their roles but were held for more than a week. Trump said they could stay but they left because nobody wants to stay in a dangerous, fascist hellhole like the US. Now Korean companies and workers are pulling entirely out of the US and cutting plans and investments. FAFO.

[–] uranibaba@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

who were overseeing the construction of a new factory

That is a good meal for the leopards indeed.

[–] hanrahan@slrpnk.net 4 points 1 day ago (2 children)

They had the correct visas

A few did, the rest did not. ICEs theatrics aside.

https://www.politifact.com/article/2025/sep/10/south-korea-work-visa-immigration-raid-hyundai-ICE/

Steven Schrank, a special agent in charge of Homeland Security investigations in Georgia and Alabama, said at a Sept. 5 press conference that the arrested workers crossed the U.S. border illegally, violated or overstayed their visas, or had entered the United States under a visa waiver program that prohibited them from working.

Immigration lawyer Charles Kuck told PolitiFact he is representing 12 of the detained people, some of whom are Korean. He said some of his clients entered the United States using either a business visa or the visa waiver program that South Korea participates in. These programs allow people to legally enter the country for a limited time and perform specific business activities. But people can’t work or be paid by U.S. companies while under these immigration statuses.

South Korean leaders, including President Lee Jae Myung, have denounced the raid, calling it "unjust infringements on the activities of our people and businesses."

Which is a shitty excuse for not having the correct visa. If the US.government won't issue visas don't come.

Hyundai deliberatly endangered the.welfare of their employees by having them break the law. Getting away.with it for a few years by nudge nudge wink wink looking the other way is also pathetic.

So.lets see what Soith Korea's stance is about working in South Korea on the wrong visa ?

[–] BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The visas did not allow employment, but were valid for work-related travel. As they were employees of a foreign company here on behalf of the foreign company the visas were valid for that purpose. ICE changed the meaning of those visas after the fact to save face and justify their illegal raid and detentions.

[–] Cort@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Many were here under esta which allows travel and meetings, but not labor.

[–] SebaDC@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 20 hours ago

Did any worker build the site or only oversee stuff?

[–] jaemo@sh.itjust.works 4 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

No matter which way you want to spin this narrative:

  1. American ICE agents put Korean citizens in handcuffs and ankle restraints
  2. multiple people were detained in a single cell, and denied Miranda rights and consular access
  3. the Korean government is taking this seriously
  4. multiple billions of investment and lots of jobs were/are on the line.
  5. talk is in the wind to relocate this investment (and hence the jobs) either to Mexico or Canada

Overstaying a visa in Korea would absolutely not land you the same treatment, but go ahead with your whataboutism. You keep digging that hole 'Mericaints. Eventually you'll make it to Korea.

Hyundai deliberatly endangered the.welfare of their employees

Any company sending employees to the SHITHOLE COUNTRY that is the USA is obviously endangering them.

Fucking QED.

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 1 points 20 hours ago

relocate this investment (and hence the jobs) either to Mexico or Canada

Canada would likely welcome this investment, but it will be tricky to choose a site given all our Flatlanders are demented from not seeing Ocean.

So, pick a region with a shoreline, and hope that's enough.

[–] mlg@lemmy.world 1 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

They had the correct visas for their roles

Most didn't actually, they were here on essentially visit visas working for the setup stint and getting paid back home in SK. Hyundai says they did it to skirt around the US's poor short term labor policies, some say Hyundai did it for cheaper SK labor in spinning up the factory, and ICE says they did it because boogey man evil foreign entity garbage.

Regardless, I wouldn't stick around for a second shot no matter how many guarantees Trump is offering, since he flip flops on a minute basis, and was likely completely aware of the planned ICE operation. Hyundai might just try to recruit new workers from SK if Trump allows, but I'm sure not many if any are going to take that offer after this fiasco.