Trump on Georgia Crackdown on Korean Workers: “I Told Them Not to Do Something So Stupid”

U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 19th at the U.S.–Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, D.C., regarding the immigration raid at the Hyundai–LG Energy Solution battery plant in Georgia, where about 300 Korean workers were detained, “I said, ‘Don’t do something so stupid,’ and we fixed it. Now those (Korean workers) are teaching our people.”

Within the MAGA (Make America Great Again) camp that follows Trump, there is strong anti-immigrant sentiment, and many feel uncomfortable even with bringing in skilled foreign workers to train Americans. But Trump said, “I’m sorry, but we need foreign professionals.”

Trump mentioned the large-scale plant that Taiwanese semiconductor company TSMC is building in Arizona and said, “To build and operate a very complex plant like that, you need thousands of foreign experts,” adding, “I would welcome those people.”

“I love my conservative friends and I love MAGA, but this (accepting foreign professionals) is MAGA,” he said. “They will teach our people how to make computer chips, and in a short period of time our people will become very good at it. Then those people will probably be able to go back home, where they’ve always wanted to return.”

Currently, South Korea and the United States are working through a “visa working group” between Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.S. State Department to establish clear guidelines on what activities existing visa holders are allowed to engage in, and they are also reportedly pushing for the creation of a separate visa category for Korean professionals working at production facilities and similar sites.

Trump’s remarks are being interpreted as an attempt to calm backlash from his base by stressing that these workers will not remain in the U.S. permanently, but will return to their home country once they have finished the core task of getting the plants up and running.

Trump said, “I may take some criticism for this,” but added, “I always take a little criticism from my people. They love me, and I love them, too.”

“They are incredibly patriotic people, but they just don’t understand,” he continued. “If we don’t allow people who have invested billions of dollars in factories and equipment to bring in many of their own people to open, run, and operate those plants, we will not succeed. I’m sorry, but that’s the reality.”

As the Korean government has pledged around 350 billion dollars in investment in the U.S. through trade agreements, dispatching Korean specialists is considered a prerequisite for carrying out various projects.

Trump had previously said, “We have to exchange personnel,” adding, “If we don’t have the workforce in the United States, whether it’s for battery manufacturing, computer manufacturing, or shipbuilding, we have to train people to do these complex jobs. We should bring in experts from overseas, train our citizens, and build a system where Americans can ultimately do the work themselves.”