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Last week, federal immigration authorities raided a Georgia battery plant tied to Hyundai and LG Energy Solution — and what they found should alarm every American worker.
At the construction site for HL-GA Battery Co., 475 people were detained, including more than 300 South Koreans, for working illegally in the United States. This site is part of Hyundai’s $7.6 billion complex near Savannah, heavily promoted by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp as a cornerstone of his plan to make the state the “electric mobility capital of America.”
The problem? Hyundai and its partners brought in foreign workers — many here illegally — instead of hiring Americans. While Kemp has bragged about using his “big truck” to round up “criminal illegals,” his aggressive courting of foreign investment has coincided with massive violations of immigration law right in his own backyard.
This raid exposes the uncomfortable truth: corporations like Hyundai are using America’s loose immigration enforcement to cut costs with illegal labor, while U.S. graduates and tradesmen are left on the sidelines. It’s the same playbook we see with abuse of H-1B visa program and the so-called “Optional Practical Training” program — avenues for cheap foreign labor that undermine American workers.
Kemp’s office issued a carefully worded statement, insisting that “all companies operating within the state must follow the laws of Georgia and our nation.” But the reality is this: Georgia taxpayers are subsidizing Hyundai’s “investment,” while the company relies on illegal labor to build its plants.
If you’re serious about border security and the rule of law, you cannot look the other way when foreign companies exploit America’s broken immigration system to import cheap foreign labor instead of hiring Americans. Texans for Strong Borders has warned for years: the perils of mass migration are not limited to the southern border. They also include corporations, lobbyists, and politicians who profit from cheap foreign labor at the expense of American workers and families. Until we secure the border, enforce the law, and hold both government and business accountable, abuses like this will continue.