President Donald Trump issued a forceful call on Monday for foreign companies operating in the United States to comply with immigration laws and prioritize hiring American workers, days after federal immigration authorities detained nearly 500 employees in a raid on a Hyundai-LG battery plant in Georgia.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation on Thursday targeted workers at the plant, detaining individuals from South Korea, Mexico, and other countries.
Footage showed employees in handcuffs and ankle chains being escorted onto buses, underscoring the administration’s determination to enforce existing immigration law.
On Truth Social, the president made clear that while foreign investment is welcome, it must not come at the expense of the American workforce or the nation’s sovereignty.
“Following the Immigration Enforcement Operation on the Hyundai Battery Plant in Georgia, I am hereby calling on all Foreign Companies investing in the United States to please respect our Nation’s Immigration Laws,” Trump wrote. “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. 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.”
The president’s remarks came just hours after South Korean officials confirmed that 300 of their citizens detained in the raid would soon be released and flown back to Seoul.
Kang Hoon-sik, chief of staff to President Lee Jae Myung, said “only administrative procedures remain” before a chartered flight returned the workers.
South Korea expressed frustration at the public handling of the operation, with officials criticizing the release of images showing their citizens in restraints. “The economic activities of our companies that have invested in the US and the rights and interests of our citizens should not be unfairly infringed upon during the course of US law enforcement,” First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo said, calling the images “lamentable.”
Trump, however, stood firmly behind U.S. law enforcement agencies, brushing aside diplomatic concerns in defense of ICE’s actions. “I would say that they were illegal aliens and ICE was just doing its job,” he told reporters on Friday.
The incident has spotlighted the challenges of balancing foreign investment with immigration enforcement at a time when global companies are increasingly turning to the United States to build advanced technology plants.
Trump’s message underscored that while America remains open for business, its laws will not be compromised.
The president is scheduled to travel to South Korea next month for an APEC summit, a meeting likely to be colored by the fallout from the raid.
Still, Trump’s insistence that foreign companies respect U.S. immigration law reflects his broader “America First” agenda, rooted in protecting American jobs and ensuring that the benefits of investment are shared with U.S. workers.
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