Leigh Kimmins
Thu, September 11, 2025
THE DAILY BEAST
Andrew Harnik / Getty Images
Donald Trump offered to let hundreds of South Korean workers detained during an immigration raid stay in the U.S.—a deal that was overwhelmingly rejected by those affected.
The raid, carried out last week at the $4.3 billion Hyundai Motor battery plant under construction in Georgia, resulted in the arrest of around 300 South Koreans and more than 150 other foreign nationals.
Trump—who touts his hardline approach to immigration—privately offered the workers a chance to remain in the country to help train American staff, South Korean officials said Thursday, Reuters reports. The move delayed the departure of a flight chartered to take the workers home, the officials said.
Only one person chose to remain in the U.S., they added.
News of Trump’s offer comes after he has been dubbed “TACO”—a nickname meaning “Trump Always Chickens Out”—for his policy flip-flopping throughout his second administration.
TV footage aired in South Korea showed the dissenting group boarding buses at 2 a.m. Thursday to head for Atlanta’s airport. They were taken from a detention facility surrounded by barbed wire, though—unlike typical deportations—they were not shackled, following demands from Seoul.
Trump’s offer came after backlash in South Korea over the raid, which involved armored vehicles and heavily armed federal agents.
U.S. immigration officials raided a Hyundai plant just 10 days after President Donald Trump met with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and pledged closer economic cooperation between the two countries. / Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesMore
President Lee Jae-myung said Thursday the arrests had thrown Korean businesses in the U.S. into “serious confusion” and warned it could chill future investment. He had met with Trump at the White House just 10 days before the immigration sweep at the Georgia site.
“Our businesses that are investing in the United States will no doubt be very hesitant,” Lee said at a press conference marking his first 100 days in office.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho-hyun confirmed that Washington and Seoul have agreed to discuss creating a new visa category to help companies legally send specialists to U.S. plants, amid long-standing complaints that existing work visa channels are too slow and restrictive.
The raid, carried out last week at the $4.3 billion Hyundai Motor battery plant under construction in Bryan County, Georgia, resulted in the arrest of around 300 South Koreans. / Justin Sullivan/Getty
Lawmakers in Seoul acknowledged that some workers may have overstayed the 90-day visa waiver program or entered on short-term B-1 business visas, but said previous U.S. administrations had allowed more flexibility to support high-tech investment projects.
China’s foreign ministry said a smaller number of Chinese nationals were also detained in the raid and urged Washington to “ensure the legitimate rights and interests of the involved Chinese citizens.”
The Guardian, meanwhile, cited leaked documents that reported that at least one of the workers who was collared by ICE was living and working in the country legally.
The Daily Beast contacted the White House for comment.
WSJ editors rip Trump's latest 'blunderbuss raid' and warn of looming repercussions
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Daniel Hampton
September 12, 2025
An activist holds a banner to protest against a huge immigration raid last week at the site of a U.S. car battery project involving Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution in the U.S. state of Georgia, at the Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, September 12, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-ji
The Wall Street Journal's conservative editorial board ripped the Trump administration's mass deportation effort, citing the fallout from last week's "blunderbuss raid" on a Hyundai plant in Georgia.
Last week, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted a major raid on an electric vehicle battery plant under construction in Ellabell. Nearly 500 workers, including over 300 South Korean nationals, were detained for visa and immigration violations.
The raid caught the Journal editors' attention on Friday evening.
"Still think mass deportation has no economic or political consequences? The fallout from last week’s blunderbuss raid on a Hyundai plant in Georgia continues to reverberate in South Korea, and it pays to listen to President Lee Jae Myung’s remarks this week," the editors wrote.
“This could significantly impact future direct investment in the U.S.,” Lee said at a news conference. Companies in the country “can’t help hesitating a lot” about making new investments in the United States, fearing their workers could wind up in detention facilities.
Lee noted the workers were not meant to be in the United States long term.
"When you build a facility or install equipment at a plant, you need technicians, but the U.S. doesn’t have that workforce and yet they won’t issue visas to let our people stay and do the work," he said.
The Journal lamented that statement "may be hard for Americans to hear, but it’s true. The U.S. doesn’t have the workforce to do these jobs."
And while the Trump administration has insisted that some of the workers entered the country illegally and others were working on expired visas, the Journal warned that there will be repercussions.
"Whatever the case, raids like the one in Georgia are a deterrent to the foreign investment Donald Trump says he wants," the said.
The Georgia raid comes as the Trump administration cracks down on both legal and illegal immigration nationwide. In a Chicago suburb, a man was shot dead by ICE during a traffic stop confrontation.
September 12, 2025
RAW STORY
An activist holds a banner to protest against a huge immigration raid last week at the site of a U.S. car battery project involving Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution in the U.S. state of Georgia, at the Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, September 12, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-ji
The Wall Street Journal's conservative editorial board ripped the Trump administration's mass deportation effort, citing the fallout from last week's "blunderbuss raid" on a Hyundai plant in Georgia.
Last week, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted a major raid on an electric vehicle battery plant under construction in Ellabell. Nearly 500 workers, including over 300 South Korean nationals, were detained for visa and immigration violations.
The raid caught the Journal editors' attention on Friday evening.
"Still think mass deportation has no economic or political consequences? The fallout from last week’s blunderbuss raid on a Hyundai plant in Georgia continues to reverberate in South Korea, and it pays to listen to President Lee Jae Myung’s remarks this week," the editors wrote.
“This could significantly impact future direct investment in the U.S.,” Lee said at a news conference. Companies in the country “can’t help hesitating a lot” about making new investments in the United States, fearing their workers could wind up in detention facilities.
Lee noted the workers were not meant to be in the United States long term.
"When you build a facility or install equipment at a plant, you need technicians, but the U.S. doesn’t have that workforce and yet they won’t issue visas to let our people stay and do the work," he said.
The Journal lamented that statement "may be hard for Americans to hear, but it’s true. The U.S. doesn’t have the workforce to do these jobs."
And while the Trump administration has insisted that some of the workers entered the country illegally and others were working on expired visas, the Journal warned that there will be repercussions.
"Whatever the case, raids like the one in Georgia are a deterrent to the foreign investment Donald Trump says he wants," the said.
The Georgia raid comes as the Trump administration cracks down on both legal and illegal immigration nationwide. In a Chicago suburb, a man was shot dead by ICE during a traffic stop confrontation.
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