The Conflict between ICE and Economic Development

On September 6, hundreds of federal agents raided a plant in Georgia that is currently under construction. The facility, which is owned by a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Company and LG Energy Solution, is planned to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles. In a military-style operation, hundreds of federal law enforcement cars, including armored vehicles and Humvees, surrounded the plant and detained 475 workers, of whom more than 300 were South Koreans. This ignited a diplomatic firestorm in South Korea and puts billions of dollars of South Korean investment in the United States at risk. On one level, this controversy is indicative of the United States' decreased position in the world. No longer the world leader that it once was, the U.S. must now rely on foreign investment and foreign skilled workers. Accepting that reality while simultaneously attempting to pursue an "American First" agenda creates inherent conflicts of the type highlighted by this raid.

I feel constantly compelled to begin posts like this with a caveat. I am cognizant of the tendency of bloggers to become overnight experts on a topic. I admittedly have no background in the construction of manufacturing facilities or U.S.-South Korean relations. However, I have devoted quite a bit of time to reading a wide variety of sources and compiling relevant facts. What I am providing here can best be described as an informed opinion. You are welcome to take it or leave it.

Fundamentally, what happened in Georgia was the unstoppable force of the Hyundai-LG joint venture trying to complete construction of its factory meeting the immovable object of federal immigration officials attempting to deport as many foreigners as possible. There are legitimate concerns on all sides. For instance, the factory has a history of safety violations that have resulted in the deaths of two workers, one of them South Korean. Labor unions have valid concerns that employee rights are not being protected. Many foreign workers at the factory have probably strayed outside the strict confines of what their visas allow. Yet, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations are hardly the best government agencies to address these concerns. The raid on the plant was a poorly considered operation that completely failed to see the big picture. It has resulted in considerable anger in a closely allied nation and puts the future of South Korean investment in the U.S. in danger.

The Hyundai-LG plant was a result of economic policies introduced by former President Joe Biden. The project met two Biden goals: to increase manufacturing in the U.S. and to move the country towards renewable energy. It is an unfortunate fact that the U.S. lags behind both China and South Korea in industries such as battery manufacturing. Biden policies encouraged electric vehicle manufacturers to utilize products, including batteries, that are manufactured in the U.S. This led to massive investment in battery manufacturing. But, due to the U.S.'s lack of capabilities in this area, almost all the projects either involved foreign partners or were the result of foreign investment. The U.S. has neither the machinery needed to produce batteries nor the skilled technicians capable of installing such machines. Therefore, both the machinery and the skilled workers needed to be imported.

Despite the close relations between the U.S. and South Korea, the U.S. does not have a dedicated program for visas for South Korean workers. Instead, South Koreans are forced to rely on the H-1B visa program, which can often be extremely slow. This has simply been unworkable. As a result, South Koreans have resorted to B-1 Temporary Business Visitor visas, which allow foreign employees to temporarily perform a limited number of categories of work. Alternatively, the South Koreans utilized the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) visa waiver program. ESTA visas allow foreign workers on short-term visits to perform instruction or teaching. The South Koreans clearly interpreted what was allowed under the temporary visas as broadly as possible. But the reality is that without the South Korean employees, the plant could not be completed. If the plant is not completed, American workers cannot be hired and trained to operate it. Both U.S. and South Korean unions released statements criticizing the raid on the plant, while also expressing concern about worker rights and safety in the facility.

Almost nobody involved thinks the ICE raid on the plant was a good idea. Construction on the facility has been halted, and negotiations to repatriate the South Koreans who were arrested are said to have resulted in a deal that may see them leave the U.S. as early as tomorrow. South Korea has halted most business travel to the U.S. out of concern that other South Koreans might be arrested. While the factory is nearly complete, its future right now is unclear. The one exception to the general disappointment is Tori Branum, a Georgia Republican running for Congress in 2026. The plant is just outside the district that she hopes to represent, but the MAGA Republican disclosed that she tipped off immigration authorities about the battery plant and talked to an ICE agent about her concerns with foreign workers at the plant. She argues that she was acting to protect American jobs that she believes the South Koreans were taking. What she really has done is contributed to delaying when American workers might be employed by the plant.

Ironically, the raid on the plant came just after cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump met with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung in the Oval Office and agreed on a trade deal that included $350 billion in South Korean investments in manufacturing operations in America. Now most South Korean companies are slowing or outright halting new manufacturing investments in the U.S., and the billions in new investment are in question. As has been Trump's tendency, when he announced a deal had been agreed upon, he was actually referring to the broad outlines of an agreement. The details still needed to be worked out. Now, the South Koreans are angry, suspicious, and unwilling to do Trump any favors.

In South Korea, it is rare that both the right and left-wing media agree on anything. But, regarding the U.S. raid on the plant in Georgia, they are totally united. The right-wing Chosun Ilbo, South Korea’s largest daily newspaper, asked "Should we continue investing in the U.S.?" At the same time, Hankyoreh, a left-leaning newspaper, wrote that "The U.S.’ double-dealing behavior of demanding massive infusions of capital from Korea, only to use immigration raids to intimidate the companies making these investments, is extremely regrettable".

In many ways, the Trump administration is extremely ill-equipped to resolve this controversy positively. The worker safety and immigration concerns involving the facility could have been settled quietly and in a respectful manner. Instead, the blunt action by immigration authorities, which included filming South Korean employees chained and shackled and then detained in an insect-infested detention facility, caused extreme anger across the political spectrum in South Korea. What could be a helpful apology from the U.S. will never come given that this is an administration that never apologizes. Similarly, nobody in this administration likely has the diplomatic skills to smooth things over. A good step in the right direction would be to fast-track a program to facilitate business visas for South Koreans that eliminates the difficulties that they currently face. Trump has signaled some openness to such reforms, but his administration has been devoted to increasing the difficulties of obtaining visas rather than easing them. Whether this is actually a realistic step remains to be seen.

The U.S. is dangerously behind on renewable energy technologies. South Korean investment was one means of catching up. Trump is no fan of green energy in any case, and he might not be too concerned if this project faces hurdles. But if foreign investment in America's renewable energy sector stops, we will quickly find ourselves insurmountably behind other countries. We will be wedded to fossil fuels while the rest of the world moves quickly towards cheap renewables, and countries such as China and South Korea move far ahead of the United States. But it will shock nobody if the Trump administration decides to prioritize immigration matters over economic development issues.