Posted on 09/12/2025 6:37:17 AM PDT by Miami Rebel
President Donald Trump has offered the 300 South Koreans rounded up and detained during an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid in Georgia the opportunity to stay in the U.S.
"Each person was allowed to choose, and the U.S. government said essentially, ‘If you want to go, you may go; if you want to stay, you may stay,’" South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said at a news conference Thursday, adding that one person had chosen to stay.
The offer marks a turnaround from the raid last week, when Trump urged foreign companies to "please respect our nation’s immigration laws" and "hire and train American workers."
Trump’s overture was intended to allow South Koreans with unlawful immigration status to stay and train American workers.
Some 300 South Koreans were arrested last week along with 150 others at a Georgia construction site for a $4.3 billion Hyundai and LG Energy Solution factory to build car batteries.
The raid was touted by Trump administration immigration authorities but came at a delicate time in the relationship between the U.S. and its ally South Korea. The two nations are engaged in trade negotiations, and Trump has been encouraging South Korea to build plants in the U.S.
Lee said South Korean businesses operating in the U.S. were in a "serious state of confusion."
South Korean companies have said for years that they’ve struggled to obtain short-term work visas for their specialists and had come to rely on a lax interpretation of the immigration law that previous administrations had allowed for them.
After the raid, Washington and Seoul will engage in discussions about establishing a new visa category for Koreans, the nation’s foreign minister, Cho Hyun, said.
"Our businesses that are investing in the United States will no doubt be very hesitant," Lee warned.
LOL.
Deport! No deals!
No , even supposedly fiends are coming in and staying illegally
Turnabout is fair play.
Are you kidding me?
to obtain short-term work visas for their specialists
It is NOT unreasonable to make such requests.
The question becomes what is a “reasonable” number of “specialists” required to do a job.
Trump’s offer was a bit of mockery towards what the Koreans defined as specialists.
Who the Hell is running the Trump WH .
S Korean smuggled illegal labor into the USA and Trump said it was fine .
It was fine they broke our laws .
What about the Americans workers getting screwed Trump .
His pandering to foreign govt has got to stop .
How about those 600,000 Chinese Spies being unleashed in our universities again ?
I did not vote for this .
South Korean companies have said for years that they’ve struggled to obtain short-term work visas for their specialists and had come to rely on a lax interpretation of the immigration law that previous administrations had allowed for them.
Fine. Six months to train American replacements then out the door. Temporary only.
I believe South Korea is another “face” culture. Trump is letting their leader “save face” with his domestic base.
That should come at the cost of forfeit of any government grant, tax abatement or tax incentive that was predicated upon the hiring of Americans.
Are they here for a predetermined amount of time (e.g. <180 days)? Are they getting paid locally in dollars or paid via a Korean bank in Won?
Consider the source, folks.
And I can’t believe I have to keep repeating that.
Trump stop pandering to Foreign govt at American workers expense .
How can Trump justify these raids but lets foreign
govts that openly breaking our law then complain get a wink and a nod .
I did not vote for this bold face hypocrisy.
It needs to put America first. We ballooned from 150 million mid last century to 350 million today, which make use the third most populous country in the world.
This mass surge of immigrants has strained our infrastructure, transportation, healthcare systems to the breaking point.
Democrats are overrepresented in Congress and the Electoral College because of immigration.
Housing prices and higher education are out of the reach of more and more citizens because of mass immigration.
We need a 50 year moratorium on ALL IMMIGRATION, 350 million is enough.
Nailed it.
He then better let Mexicans stay to teach Americans how to do their own landscaping and pick their own crops. Most migrants would not be here if there was not an economic need for their labor.
I did not mean that remark specially at you .
I am fed up with Trump twisting himself into a pretzel
to appease. these foreign govt that get caught
abusing our laws and shipping there excess labor here and complain about getting caught .
Does China do that. Hell no .
Trump is becoming a huge hypocrite here and his
supposed crack downs a joke .
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.