The large-scale Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid at the Hyundai manufacturing plant in Georgia on Thursday has been touted by members of the Trump administration as the most ambitious enforcement action yet of President Trump’s tenure.

But the raid — which saw hundreds of mostly South Korean citizens detained — has placed a strain on the president’s relationship with a close American ally and has forced him to navigate competing priorities of his administration.

Here’s what to know about the workplace raid and the diplomatic fallout:

‘Largest single site enforcement operation’ in DHS history

Steven Schrank, the lead Georgia agent of Homeland Security Investigations, said the operation in Georgia was the “largest single site enforcement operation” in the two-decade history of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Schrank said the raid resulted from a months-long investigation into alleged illegal hirings at the worksite.

Nearly 500 people were detained at the site, including more than 300 South Korean citizens, according to South Korea’s foreign minister, Cho Hyun.

The immigration statuses of all the detained workers were not immediately clear.

Schrank said some detained workers entered the U.S. illegally, others arrived legally but stayed on expired visas and others were permitted to be in the U.S. but were prohibited from working.

An attorney for a couple of the detainees pushed back, saying his clients were on a visa allowing them to travel for business for up to 90 days — which the attorney said they were well within.

High-profile manufacturing site

The raid targeted Hyundai Motor Group’s manufacturing site that Georgia officials have long lauded as its largest economic development site.

The operation especially targeted a plant still under construction that is slated to operate with LG Energy Solution to produce batteries to power electric vehicles.

The overall site employs approximately 1,200 people about 25 miles from Savannah, Ga.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) and other GOP state officials issued statements after the raid saying all employers were expected to follow the law. They had previously celebrated the plant’s opening.

South Korea’s response

The South Korean government initially expressed “concern and regret” after the operation, which targeted hundreds of its citizens. Korean officials were sent to the site.

“The business activities of our investors and the rights of our nationals must not be unjustly infringed in the process of U.S. law enforcement,” a spokesperson for South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a televised statement.

South Korean presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik said Sunday that its government has finalized a deal with the U.S. to release the Korean workers detained during the raid.

Kang said there were still “administrative procedures” remaining to finalize the deal, but that a chartered plane would soon be sent to retrieve the Koreans in custody.

The South Korean foreign minister departed from Seoul local time on Monday to travel to Washington to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other U.S. officials to discuss the details of the deal, according to local reports, which cited the foreign ministry.

A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on “private diplomatic communications” and said they have “nothing to share at this time” regarding a meeting between the countries’ top diplomats.

Trump’s response

President Trump on Sunday told reporters that he would be speaking to South Korean officials, and he insisted relations with that ally were strong despite the anger the arrests provoked in South Korea.

Trump suggested foreign companies needed to train U.S. people at factories they were building in the U.S.

“And you know, when they’re building batteries, if you don’t have people in this country right now that know about batteries, maybe we should help them along and let some people come in and train our people to do, you know, complex things, whether it’s battery manufacturing or computer manufacturing or building ships,” he said. “So we’re going to look at that whole situation.”

Trump called the whole situation “interesting” and defended ICE agents for conducting the raid, saying they were “right” to carry out the enforcement operation because the South Korean workers had been in the U.S. “illegally.”

“But we do have to work something out where we bring in experts so that our people can be trained so that they can do it themselves. Does that make sense?”

He then insisted his administration had a “great” relationship with South Korea and that “I’m going to look at it because I understand exactly what they’re saying.”

Later, Trump sought to thread the needle between encouraging foreign companies to continue investing in the United States, while insisting immigration laws be respected.

“Your Investments are welcome, and we encourage you to LEGALLY bring your very smart people, with great technical talent, to build World Class products, and we will make it quickly and legally possible for you to do so,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“What we ask in return is that you hire and train American Workers. Together, we will all work hard to make our Nation not only productive, but closer in unity than ever before. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung held their first meeting in Washington late last month. The meeting came after South Korea agreed in July to purchase $100 billion in U.S. energy and invest $350 billion in the U.S. in return for the U.S lowering tariff rates. 

The Associated Press contributed.