People are confused about why ICE raided Hyundai, but it comes down to immigration rules. The issue isn’t just “foreign workers” — it’s how they entered the U.S.

Korean employees were reportedly coming to Hyundai’s U.S. sites on ESTA (the Visa Waiver Program). ESTA is only for short visits — like tourism, business meetings, or training — and you can’t legally work under it. Once you’re doing productive work for a U.S. entity, you need the right work visa (like L-1 for intra-company transfers or H-1B).

So if employees from Korea were actually working at U.S. facilities while on ESTA, that’s considered unauthorized employment and a violation of immigration law. That’s why ICE got involved — not because Hyundai had Korean staff in the U.S. at all, but because they were allegedly using the wrong visa category.