Hyundai’s huge EV manufacturing facility in Georgia became the latest target of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown last week, with federal agents detaining 475 workers, most of them from South Korea.
The raid has delayed the opening of the complex’s battery factory, which the automaker is building with LG Energy Solution in the Southeast’s growing “battery belt.” And experts, including South Korea’s president, have warned the move could have a much broader chilling effect on foreign investment in U.S. factories — much of which has flowed to clean energy projects in recent years.
Hyundai broke ground on its Georgia complex three years ago after securing $2.1 billion in subsidies from the state and nearby counties, with strong support from Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. But that investment came with conditions, namely that Hyundai and its suppliers would hire at least 8,500 long-term workers by 2031.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement alleges those arrested were working illegally. But an attorney for several detained South Koreans says they have valid visas and were only working for a short time to get the facility’s battery operations up and running. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung defended the workers in a Thursday statement.
“When you build a factory or install equipment at a factory, you need technicians. But the United States doesn’t have that workforce, and yet they won’t issue visas to let our people stay and do the work,” he said. “If that’s not possible, then establishing a local factory in the United States will either come with severe disadvantages or become very difficult for our companies. They will wonder whether they should even do it.”
That could be an especially big problem for Georgia, which is home to about 100 Korean-owned facilities employing 17,000 people. That includes an SK Battery America EV battery factory, Hanwha Qcells’ solar panel plant, and a Kia EV manufacturing facility.
Last week’s raid is already having tangible ripple effects on U.S. manufacturing. Reuters reports that South Korean workers at other LG Energy Solution production sites and an LG/General Motors plant are preparing to depart due to visa worries — or already have.
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Three weeks after the Trump administration halted work on a nearly complete offshore wind farm near Rhode Island, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum suggested that his department will soon decide whether Revolution Wind can restart construction. The administration is “in discussions” with state governors and the project’s developers, and is finishing its required reviews, he told CNBC on Wednesday.
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