WASHINGTON D.C. — President Donald Trump stated he is considering measures to bring in foreign experts, particularly in the battery, computer, and shipbuilding industries, to train American workers. This announcement follows the recent detention of a large number of South Korean workers by immigration authorities at a Hyundai Motor Group-LG Energy Solution joint venture battery plant in Georgia. Trump's comments highlight a potential conflict between his "America First" policies of promoting domestic manufacturing and his long-standing anti-immigration stance.
On September 7th (local time), when asked by reporters if the mass detention would strain relations with South Korea, President Trump responded, "No, it wouldn't. We have a great relationship with South Korea. A really good relationship." He asserted that there are no issues between the two countries.
President Trump explained his reasoning for the proposed policy, stating, "We have many industries that we don't have anymore," and "we need to cross-pollinate our workforce." He suggested, "The way you do that is you bring people in who are good at it for a certain period of time and you get their help." He added, "We have to have a method where we bring in experts to train our people so they can do the work themselves." Trump elaborated that if the U.S. lacks a skilled workforce in areas like batteries, computers, and shipbuilding, it should bring in experts to train Americans for these complex tasks.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump also encouraged foreign companies to "bring in talented people with great skills to legally produce world-class products" in the United States, adding that his administration would "help them swiftly on a legal basis." This suggests that in exchange for training American workers, the administration would resolve visa issues for skilled foreign laborers.
However, President Trump also defended the recent immigration raid, stating, "They [the detained South Korean workers] were there illegally," and "it was the right thing for ICE to do the raid." This statement reaffirms the Trump administration's firm stance on enforcing immigration laws against undocumented immigrants. Some interpret his remarks as placing the blame for the detention on foreign companies for neglecting to hire and train an American workforce.
Political media outlet Axios pointed out the inherent tension in the Trump administration's economic policies, noting that "a fundamental tenet of the Trump administration's economic policy is that companies should build factories in the U.S.," but "they can't build the factories if the workers are detained." The outlet also reported that while the U.S. government pressures companies to hire locally, foreign firms like those from South Korea claim they cannot find suitable talent in the country. Axios concluded that the recent immigration raid "shows the tension inherent in President Trump's goals."
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