Published: 6:09am, 15 Sep 2025Updated: 11:42am, 15 Sep 2025
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that foreign workers sent to the United States were “welcome” and he did not want to “frighten off” investors, 10 days after hundreds of South Koreans were arrested at a work site in Georgia.
Advertisement
In a post on his Truth Social platform, the 79-year-old Republican wrote: “I don’t want to frighten off or disincentivize investment.”
Some 475 people, mostly South Korean nationals, were arrested at the construction site of an electric vehicle battery factory, operated by Hyundai-LG, in the southeastern US state of Georgia on September 4.
08:08
Widespread anti-immigrant operations spark fear in Asian communities across the US
Widespread anti-immigrant operations spark fear in Asian communities across the US
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials alleged South Koreans had overstayed their visas or held permits that did not allow them to perform manual labour.
The Georgia raid was the largest single-site operation conducted since Trump launched a sweeping immigration crackdown across the country.
Though the United States decided against deportation, images of the workers being chained and handcuffed during the raid caused widespread alarm in South Korea.
Advertisement
Seoul repatriated the workers on Friday.