Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers detained 475 Hyundai contractors in one of the biggest immigration raids in US history.

The operation at the Hyundai Motor car battery factory in Georgia included the arrest of 300 Koreans as part of Donald Trump’s escalating crackdown on immigrants.

In response, South Korea’s government held an emergency meeting and vowed to swiftly respond to the arrests of so many of its citizens.

Cho Hyun, its foreign minister, has dispatched diplomats to the site. He said he was willing to travel to Washington to meet the Trump administration.

“I feel heavy responsibility for the arrests of our citizens,” Mr Cho told the emergency government meeting following the raid at the plant near Savannah, adding that he was “deeply concerned”.