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Trump criticizes South Korean companies for cracking down on illegal immigrants: "They're doing their job." (Comprehensive)

Friday, September 5


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About 300 Koreans arrested in largest-ever crackdown, announced just before the announcement.

"This isn't a one-sided deal… We want to get along with other countries and have a stable workforce."

트럼프 미국 대통령
[Washington EPA=Yonhap News. Resale and DB prohibited]

(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Lee Yu-mi = On the 5th (local time), US President Donald Trump said regarding the US authorities' large-scale immigration crackdown at the construction site of the Hyundai Motor Group-LG Energy Solution joint battery plant in Georgia,"I think they were illegal aliens and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did their job."

President Trump responded to a question about the incident during a Q&A session with the press at the White House that day by saying,"I only heard about it right before the press conference (by immigration authorities)."

He added,"But I don't know anything about the incident that happened a little while ago."

Regarding the Hyundai Motor Group, which is currently under investigation, having previously announced plans for large-scale investment in the United States, he said,"They have the right to sell cars and other products in our country. As you know, this is not a one-sided deal."

When asked whether it was unfair to conduct a large-scale immigration crackdown on foreign companies making large-scale investments in the United States, he appeared to counter that the investment decisions of foreign companies are not only beneficial to the United States.

미국, 현대차-LG엔솔 공장서 불체자 단속
(Seoul = Yonhap News) It has been revealed that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducted a large-scale crackdown on illegal immigrants at the construction site of the Hyundai Motor Group-LG Energy Solution joint battery plant in Savannah, Georgia on the 4th (local time). The Atlanta branch of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) announced in a post on the official account of X (formerly Twitter) that day,"Today, together with HSI, ICE, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Georgia State Patrol, we conducted a large-scale immigration crackdown at the Hyundai Motor Company battery plant construction site in Bryan County, Georgia." The photo is a scene from the crackdown posted on X. 2025.9.5 [Capture of ATF Atlanta Branch X. Resale and DB prohibited] photo@yna.co.kr

President Trump responded to criticism that his policy goals of cracking down on immigration and revitalizing manufacturing were in conflict, saying,"We want to get along well with other countries, and we want a good, stable workforce."

He then reiterated,"There were a lot of illegal immigrants working there," adding,"They (immigration authorities) were doing their job. They did what they had to do."

He continued,"They (illegal immigrants) are people who came over during the Biden administration. They entered our country illegally," adding,"So we have to do our job."

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Georgia State Patrol conducted a large-scale immigration raid the previous day at the Hyundai battery plant construction site in Bryan County, Georgia.

As a result, 475 people were arrested, the majority of whom were Korean nationals, according to U.S. authorities. Authorities explained that the arrested employees either entered the U.S. illegally or were working illegally while violating their residency status.

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