Trump backpedals as Hyundai factory ICE raid enrages South Korea
- Reference: 1757985487
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/09/16/us_hyundai_immigration/
- Source link:
"When Foreign Companies who are building extremely complex products, machines, and various other 'things,' come into the United States with massive Investments, I want them to bring their people of expertise for a period of time to teach and train our people how to make these very unique and complex products, as they phase out of our Country, and back into their land," the president postedon Truth Social, adding “I don’t want to frighten off or disincentivize Investment into America by outside Countries or Companies. We welcome them, we welcome their employees, and we are willing to proudly say we will learn from them.”
That post referred back to the September 4 [1]raid that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducted at a site jointly operated by Hyundai and LG Electronics in Georgia, where the Korean companies build batteries and electric cars. Korean workers were present at the site to train American staff.
[2]
ICE made 475 arrests during the raid, including more than 300 South Korean nationals – many of whom claimed they held valid visas that allowed them to work in the USA – and paraded shackled Korean workers in front of TV news cameras.
[3]
[4]
Seeing their countryfolk shackled and imprisoned enraged many in South Korea, where opinion writers wrote angry columns that [5]appeared under headlines like “Imperial Tyranny, Korea's Humiliation.”
South presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung [6]told local media the government was reviewing the incident to determine whether any human rights violations occurred.
A model project in trouble
US trade policy calls for foreign companies to manufacture their products on American soil, a goal Georgia’s Republican governor Brian Kemp spent years pursuing by wooing investment from the Korean giants in the hope it would boost the local economy and create high-skilled, high-wage jobs.
But that ambition now looks harder to realize, as work on the battery plant halted after the ICE raid.
[7]
“We are continuing to monitor the situation and preparing to resume construction once we have more clarity on visa guidelines, etc,” an LG spokesperson told The Register . “As we have been aiming to start production at HL-GA Battery Company next year, we will commit efforts to minimize the impact on our business.”
[8]US cuffs 475 at Hyundai–LG battery plant – feds tout largest single-site raid
[9]US signals intention to rethink job H-1B lottery
[10]Trump surprises with TSMC $300B investment claim
[11]Intel talent bleed continues as Xeon chip architect heads for the escape hatch
Other Asian giants that have already committed to building factories in the US, including Samsung and TSMC, are doubtless aware of the incident and are considering the impact on their own stateside operations.
In other fields, some already feel that they can attract talent who may no longer feel welcome in the US.
European universities are [12]actively wooing academics to their shores. China too is trying to convince scientists and tech pros to come to the country with a [13]new class of visa .
Incidents like the raid at the Hyundai/LG plant will likely undermine the USA’s policy of restoring national manufacturing prowess and capability, despite President Trump’s attempt at reassurance and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau [14]reportedly expressing “deep regret” over the incident. ®
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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/05/ice_hyundai_arrests/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aMjg3IZQk6iRcUzdhmdVjwAAAAk&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aMjg3IZQk6iRcUzdhmdVjwAAAAk&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aMjg3IZQk6iRcUzdhmdVjwAAAAk&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/opinion/column/1217990.html
[6] https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20250915003851315
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aMjg3IZQk6iRcUzdhmdVjwAAAAk&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/05/ice_hyundai_arrests/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/20/h_1b_job_lottery/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/06/trump_tsmc_300b/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/11/intel_loses_chief_architect/
[12] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/25/europe-universities-us-researchers-trump-administration-science
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/18/asia_tech_news_in_brief/
[14] https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10575176
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Work visas, really? Where are they?
Let's be clear here - ICE doesn't give a damn about whether you have a valid visa or not. If you look foreign, off you go. And even if you don't *look* foreign, if you *sound* foreign, they deport you too. They've deported people who had valid visas, they've deported people who were in the US on asylum (with genuine claims), and you know all about the most famous of all, the Salvadorian who was deported to El Salvador *despite* a court order telling the US government not to. The government had to row back on that eventually and fetch him back, only to slap him with spurious claims of gang violence, human trafficking and some other claims, all of which are being questioned by the judicial system.
And, the one person who kicked off this charade by claiming there were illegal immigrants working at the Hyundai and LG plants has shown zero interest in remotely apologising for what was a complete self-goal. Yes, she is a Trumpeteer. Yes, she is full MAGA. And boy will she be the celebrity of town when Hyundai and LG go "you know what, nah, we'll cancel any further investment" and all her fellow MAGA friends working in those two factories lose their jobs. She's already being celebrated (no, I'm kidding, she's getting heat from those who rely on those jobs).
So... you might want to check your sources first (and check what ulterior motives they might have) before you shoot your mouth off. Hyundai and LG play it by the book when it comes to the US, they don't do stupid things.
Re: Work visas, really? Where are they?
Do you really think companies would invest billions of dollars building a plant and not understand the visa requirements for the skilled workers they needed to send over for construction? ICE has been shown to arrest people and ask questions later. Once they have everyone rounded up, they can either find a way to cancel the visa with the help of the State Department, or quietly release the people who were wrongly detained. By that point ICE has hit their arrest quota and got their propaganda on the news.
The workers had the appropriate visas, but it didn't matter. And that is why the South Koreans are so pissed.
Trump backpedals...
pretty obvious that clown is more in need of the services of a trick cyclist than any of his predecessors but the picture of that fat carcass backpedalling on a unicycle presumably simultaneously devouring a taco pretty much epitomizes the US today.
Re: Trump backpedals...
TACO in action
“I don’t want to frighten off or disincentivize Investment into America by outside Countries or Companies."
But ya *did*, Blanche!
Typo?!?
"South presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung"
South ??? presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung
Yes I know what you mean but the editor should have picked this up.
Re: Typo?!?
*points at the "Send corrections" link at the top of the comments page*
Every day is TACO Tuesday with this clown.
Work visas, really? Where are they?
“ICE made 475 arrests during the raid, including more than 300 South Korean nationals – many of whom claimed they held valid visas that allowed them to work in the USA.”
It’s one thing to claim you held a valid visa, how about showing the actual visa?
Sometimes if immigration police come and demand you produce your valid work visa, who knows, they just might go away and leave you alone if you produce your legally-required work visa.
Like, let’s suppose your an American and “some guy” invites you to come work in South Korea. Do you really think they’d just let you do that without, at some point or other, producing a valid work visa?
From the way I heard it, there’s almost nowhere on earth you’re allowed to go visit and start working and all that, based solely on some vague claim like, “well I used to have a valid work visa.” At some point some immigration cop is liable to ask you to produce an actual, real, non-imaginary work visa. Not only ask for it, but insist you produce it immediately if not sooner! (Like how the whole entire world works or whatever.)