Two key components of President Donald Trump’s agenda collided Thursday, when federal authorities launched an immigration raid on a Georgia construction site for a Hyundai electric vehicle battery plant.
The action came as Trump looks to secure $350 billion in investments from South Korea, as part of a broader trade deal. He is also seeking to revitalize U.S. domestic manufacturing with American-born workers while his administration arrests and deports foreign-born laborers.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The raid, which led to the arrests of nearly 500 workers, about 300 of whom were South Korean nationals, set off alarm bells in Seoul, which is now working with U.S. law enforcement to return those workers home.
Hyundai, one of South Korea’s largest companies, said it is “committed to full compliance with all laws and regulations” while noting that “none of those detained is directly employed by Hyundai Motor Company.” In the United States, Hyundai is the nation’s fourth bestseller of new vehicles, behind GM, Toyota and Ford.
“As we continue to invest in American manufacturing and create thousands of jobs, we will do so in full accordance with U.S. law and in a manner that reflects our values of treating all people with dignity and respect,” the company added.
Hyundai declined to say specifically if it would alter its plans because of last week’s raid. LG Energy Solution, which will operate the factory in a joint venture with Hyundai, has reportedly decided to delay the start of production until the first half of 2026.
LG Energy Solution and the joint venture did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“I will make it clear that if completion [of the factory] is delayed, the United States will also suffer significant losses,” South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told lawmakers Monday.
Trump dismissed such concerns. Asked if the raid was straining relations at all with South Korea, a key U.S. ally, Trump said Sunday: “No, we have a great relationship with South Korea.”
The South Korean government has been working with the Trump administration to finalize a framework trade agreement, under which South Korea would buy $100 billion of U.S. energy products and invest $350 billion in the United States. The details of that investment remain unclear, but Trump has said those funds would be his to use any way he sees fit.
Days after the Hyundai raid, Trump on Sunday night admonished foreign companies doing business in the United States. “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,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Other projects touted by Trump in high-profile announcements, such as semiconductor factories, high-powered AI data centers, pharmaceutical plants, energy infrastructure, aircraft assembly lines and others, could require visas for similar types of workers.
“This operation underscores our commitment to protecting jobs for Georgians, ensuring a level playing field for businesses that comply with the law, safeguarding the integrity of our economy, and protecting workers from exploitation. This investigation is focused on ensuring accountability for those who violate the law and upholding the rule of law,” an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson told NBC News on Thursday.
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, told CNN on Sunday that the administration plans “a lot more worksite operations.” Homan did not specify what other types of businesses may receive visits, but he cited his personal experience with hiring a roofing company. “I had to call five different companies before I had a company that guaranteed me a legal work force,” he said.
The president’s economic and immigration policies often appear at odds. On Friday, the Labor Department reported a further slowdown in jobs growth, indicating a cooling in the broader economy. The administration, however, touted a decline in foreign-born workers.
Farms across California, meatpacking plants in Nebraska and businesses in a number of other states received visits from ICE, Border Patrol agents and other federal officers in May and June, leading to protests and complaints from the industries that they were losing reliable, longtime workers. Farmers were already under pressure from the president’s tariff policy, which has hurt demand for American products overseas.
Trump often cites American farmers as among his biggest supporters. “Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,” Trump posted in June. “We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”
ICE then paused visits to farms, hotels, restaurants, fisheries and other types of workplaces. But after about a week, the Department of Homeland Security walked that back and the ICE visits resumed.
Trump conceded this past weekend that the administration will have to grant visas to overseas workers, especially those who could train U.S. workers in specialty industries, such as establishing battery factories.
“We’re going to have to train people. And the way you train people is [to] bring people in that know what they’re doing and let them stay for a little while and help,” Trump said. “So, I’m going to look at that. It’s a very interesting situation that took place in Georgia.”
Trump has pointed to the Hyundai factory and the company’s related U.S. investments as evidence that the administration’s economic agenda is working, even though facilities like the one Hyundai is building take years to begin producing tangible output.
“Stricter immigration enforcement has likely reduced new entrants to the workforce,” Wells Fargo economists wrote Friday after the most recent jobs report showed just 22,000 jobs were added in August. That report also included revisions that showed a labor market contraction in June.
EY’s chief economist concurred, noting that “tighter immigration policies are increasingly restraining labor supply.”
