A protestation banner depicting U.S. President Donald Trump astatine Incheon International Airport successful South Korea, connected September 12, 2025, aft the touchdown of a level holding hundreds of South Korean workers who were detained arsenic portion of a U.S. migration raid astatine a Hyundai-LG works successful Georgia.
Anthony Wallace | Afp | Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump and his medication connected Monday moved to bounds the fallout of an migration raid astatine a South Korean-owned artillery works successful Georgia connected Sept.4 — a determination that angered the U.S. state and sparked concerns regarding overseas concern successful the U.S.
The Georgia facility, operated by Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution, saw 475 of its workers arrested connected allegations that they were successful the U.S. illegally, oregon without the due enactment permits, with hundreds of detained South Koreans sent location Thursday.
The raid was portion of a broader deportation thrust by the Trump administration, which the White House has described arsenic cardinal to fulfilling Trump's predetermination run promises. Stephen Miller, the White House's lawman main of unit and homeland information adviser, has pushed for 3,000 arrests a day.
Amid backlash and concerns implicit however the raid could disrupt efforts to bring manufacturing backmost to the U.S. — a determination called reshoring oregon onshoring — Trump, successful a station connected Truth Social Monday, stressed that overseas workers are "welcome" successful the country.
Trump said that helium wants overseas companies gathering analyzable products, machines, and assorted different "things" to bring skilled employees to bid the home workforce, though helium emphasized that these overseas workers are expected to instrumentality location eventually.
"If we didn't bash this, each of that monolithic Investment volition ne'er travel successful the archetypal place... I don't privation to frighten disconnected oregon disincentivize Investment into America by extracurricular Countries oregon Companies," Trump said.
Meanwhile, Christopher Landau, a apical U.S. diplomat, expressed regret implicit the migration raid successful a gathering with South Korean counterparts implicit the weekend, suggesting that the lawsuit could beryllium utilized arsenic a turning constituent to fortify bilateral relations, according to the Korean Foreign Ministry.
Landau besides said that South Korean workers volition look nary disadvantages successful reentering the U.S. and that Washington would strive to forestall akin incidents.
Further fallout?
Besides Washington's reconciliatory statements, Landau besides said successful a station connected X that the U.S. State Department "will guarantee that [the South Koreans] person the indispensable and due visas to comply with our laws."
South Korean state media reported that Washington has agreed to found a caller "visa moving group" for the country, with discussions said to see Seoul's tendency for a abstracted U.S. visa quota for its workers.
Currently, the U.S. allows employers to temporarily prosecute overseas workers successful "specialty occupations" nether its H-1B visa program, but the strategy is highly selective owed to an yearly headdress and a lottery system.
A South Korean statesmanlike spokesperson besides told section media connected Monday that Seoul is conducting a much thorough reappraisal to find whether immoderate quality rights violations had occurred during U.S. migration enforcement astatine the Georgia artillery plant.
U.S. authorities officials said that hundreds of the workers detained astatine the installation had been staying successful the state illegally.
Experts person told CNBC that the migration actions — the azygous largest enforcement cognition successful the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's past — could pb to different foreign businesses reassessing their workforces successful the U.S.
LG Energy Solution told CNBC past week that the commencement of the Georgia EV artillery works had been postponed from 2025 to 2026. However, the institution claimed that the determination was not related to the caller incidental but alternatively to outer factors, including wide marketplace conditions.
Many different South Korean tech giants person been investing billions into facilities successful the U.S. arsenic portion of reshoring efforts, including semiconductor companies Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has called the raid "bewildering," adding that it would discourage aboriginal concern into the U.S.
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