US President Donald Trump urged foreign companies to comply with immigration laws amid the detention of more than 300 South Korean workers involved in the construction of a Hyundai and LG plant in the country.
„Following the immigration enforcement operation at the Hyundai Battery plant in Georgia, I urge all foreign companies investing in the United States to comply with our country's immigration laws. “Your investment is welcome and we encourage you to legally bring in talented people with exceptional technical skills to create world-class products,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He also stressed that foreign companies that bring in skilled foreign workers must hire and train American workers.
Earlier, US authorities detained 457 people at the construction site of an electric vehicle battery plant of South Korean companies Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution in Georgia. More than 300 of them are citizens of the Republic of Korea. They are suspected of violating immigration laws. South Korean authorities later reached an agreement with the United States to repatriate the detained South Korean workers.
Yonhap News Agency noted that most of the South Koreans had come to the United States on B1 business visas or under the ESTA visa waiver program for short-term travel. US authorities said the detainees were working in the United States without authorization.