SAVANNAH, Ga. () — Following the immigration raid at the HL-GA Battery Plant, a leader with the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA) shared that he isn’t concerned with the future of the plant or the relationship with South Korea.

SEDA President and CEO Trip Tollison said he and his colleagues were surprised to hear about the raid and have been frustrated since.

“It’s a setback. No question about it,” Tollison told News 3.

Nearly 500 construction workers were detained at the battery plant, located on the Hyundai megasite in Ellabell on September 4, following allegations of illegal labor. Many of those who were put in handcuffs were skilled workers, according to Tollison.

According to officials, those workers from outside of the U.S. were hired by subcontractors to complete the battery plant.

“It’s very proprietary technology, and there’s only certain spots in the world that actually have it,” Tollison said. “It’s important that those folks are here installing the equipment… very sophisticated activities are going on. More importantly, they’re going to be here to train Americans on how to use it once it’s installed.”

Tollison is unsure exactly how many people had or did not have temporary work visas. Regardless, he said the project is now delayed three months.

“The White House has given us lease to the company, and the Foreign Ministry of South Korea have been doing everything they can to streamline the process and get them back as quickly as they can,” Tollison said.

According to Tollison, the site is the largest project in Georgia history. SEDA is the lead agency behind the $1.6 billion dollar incentive package to bring Hyundai here, including tax credits.

According to Tollison, there are currently 3,129 Americans filling those permanent jobs, and this raid doesn’t impact them or the future permanent jobs onsite. He shared that he hopes this issue can be prevented in the future.

“When it comes to construction and when it comes to contractors, subcontractors, sub-sub subcontractors, we don’t drill down. We expect that they follow the law. We expect that they’re here, and they’re doing what they’re supposed to be doing,” Tollison said.

News 3 asked Tollison if this operation has impacted relationships or partnerships Hyundai might have, and he said it’s quite the opposite. Just last week, Hyundai announced a phase two expansion of the metaplant, creating 3,000 more jobs in the area.

“I think that that solidifies or definitely highlights how important the partnership is between the state and Hyundai for them to come back to the table and basically, for lack of a better word, double down on what they’re doing here after the raid,” Tollison said. “It’s a very telling moment for us, because they want to be here. They want to continue the partnership. They want to grow.”