Photo: Alamy
President Donald Trump called on foreign employers operating in the U.S. to respect immigration laws after a Friday immigration raid at a Georgia Hyundai plant where hundreds of illegal immigrants were arrested.
The president shared the comments in a Truth Social post released on Sunday night.
“Following the Immigration Enforcement Operation on the Hyundai Battery Plant in Georgia, I am hereby calling on all Foreign Companies investing in the United States to please respect our Nation’s Immigration Laws,” Trump wrote.
“Your Investments are welcome, and we encourage you to LEGALLY bring your very smart people, with great technical talent, to build World Class products, and we will make it quickly and legally possible for you to do so. What we ask in return is that you hire and train American Workers. Together, we will all work hard to make our Nation not only productive, but closer in unity than ever before,” he added.
The Trump administration is also preparing to expand workplace immigration enforcement following the Georgia raid, a top White House official said Sunday. White House border czar Tom Homan told CNN’s “State of the Union” that the administration will intensify operations targeting businesses that employ workers without legal status.
“We’re going to do more worksite enforcement operations,” Homan said. “No one hires an illegal alien out of the goodness of their heart. They hire them because they can work them harder, pay them less, undercut the competition that hires U.S. citizen employees.”
The comments came days after U.S. immigration authorities arrested 475 people at the Georgia facility. Most of those detained were South Korean nationals, officials said. South Korea’s government announced Sunday that the workers would be returned after administrative procedures are completed.
The Georgia raid followed weeks of efforts from President Trump on immigration enforcement. He and senior officials have suggested deploying federal officers and National Guard troops to major cities such as Chicago to address both crime and immigration.
On Saturday, Trump shared a meme on Truth Social styled after the Vietnam War film “Apocalypse Now.” It depicted the Chicago skyline in flames with helicopters overhead. The image drew criticism for its warlike symbolism, with some residents objecting to what they saw as a portrayal of the city as a battlefield.