Trump’s Hyundai Immigration Raid Disrupts Huge EV Project, Undermines International Clean Energy Investment
The Trump Administration’s manic focus on mass deportation has found a new target: billions of dollars in clean energy investment in America by our international allies.
On September 4th, a massive immigration raid targeted a $7.6 billion Hyundai Electric Vehicle manufacturing plant in Georgia. Just three years ago, Georgia’s Republican Governor touted that plant, which already employs 1,200 people, as the biggest economic development project in his state’s history.
Now the future of that investment has been clouded by what was one of the biggest immigration raids in American history. Hundreds of federal agents descended on the site and arrested 475 people, including more than 300 South Korean nationals. Many of the Koreans arrested were working under legal visas. Hyundai brought these engineers and contractors to install equipment with which available American workers were unfamiliar.
Hurting Our Nation’s Economy
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blithely asserted that the raid won’t deter international investment in the United States. Yet, the government of South Korea, a major American ally in the Pacific, is quietly furious.
In July, it agreed to purchase $100 billion in U.S. energy and make a $350 billion investment in the U.S. in return for the U.S lowering tariff rates. Just two weeks before the raid, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met with Trump in Washington. This slap in the face has left South Korea and other nations wondering whether the Trump Administration can be trusted to keep deals it makes, much less those negotiated by a previous president.
Trump’s Vendetta Against Clean Energy
The Hyundai raid follows close on the heels of the Trump Interior Department’s decision to halt a mostly completed major offshore wind energy project (Revolution Wind) partially owned by a major Danish clean energy company.
Trump has shown again and again that he is a threat to both clean energy at home and abroad. His policies not only hurt our nation’s economy, but international efforts to address the climate crisis.
What can you do?
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