Only in Trump’s government, that stuttering engine of unintended consequences, could they pull off a hat trick of diplomatic sabotage, economic self-immolation, and public relations disaster all before breakfast.
It doesn’t make any sense, you might think, which is exactly why it makes sense in Trump World. Last week, the Trump administration staged the largest immigration raid in U.S. history—not at the border, not against cartel operatives with face tattoos—but at a Hyundai-LG battery plant in Ellabell, Georgia. Their crime? Investing billions in the US of A, just as Trump had been begging and threatening every foreign CEO and politician to do.
The administration thanked its loyal allies from Seoul, with whom the administration just signed a $350 billion “big beautiful” trade deal, by sending in the immigration stormtroopers. This, we were told, was about ridding the nation of the “worst of the worst.” Apparently, the “worst of the worst” are now the guys installing battery cells for the American manufacturing renaissance. Who knew?
You might be thinking to yourself It can’t get any worse than that, can it?
Well, ICE, never content to screw things up quietly, decided to do it on camera. Posting videos all over social media of humiliated South Korean nationals chained at wrists and ankles. Nothing says “invest in America” like humiliating the investment—billions pledged by Korean businesses.
Are there any positives for Trump from this? There isn’t one, unless your idea of good economics is smashing your own windows and then congratulating yourself for stimulating the window repair industry. U.S. automakers need batteries. Trump wants foreign companies to invest in making batteries in America. So naturally, his administration raided the battery factory. Perfectly normal behaviour, says every Trump-voting imbecile.
According to an immigration lawyer, many of these so-called criminals had perfectly valid visas. Many of the people ICE hauled away in cable-ties were there to work legally—with paperwork, with visas, with the unenviable task of installing the machines that would eventually employ American workers. They weren’t taking jobs; they were literally building the machinery to create jobs. In other words, ICE arrested the construction crew before the factory was finished. To add some very dark humour to the story, the agents didn’t even bother to bring a Korean translator. They’d come hunting for Latin Americans and wound up with South Korean engineers instead. Nothing says “efficient, targeted law enforcement” like having to mime the charges.
It’s another bumbling, high-profile mess—which in Trump policy circles is less an accident and more a tradition. But the fiasco highlights something bigger: America is trying to run a “Made in USA” economy. Trump is trying to bully corporations into building billion-dollar factories here with tariffs, tax threats, and his usual charm offensive (the charm being optional, the offensive mandatory). But someone has to design the wiring, bolt the machines to the floor, and ensure the robots don’t catch fire. That somebody is usually an engineer with a passport from Seoul, not a good ol’ boy named Earl. This means visas, work permits, and some competency at the federal level. The problem is, Trump’s immigration policy treats every foreigner like a suspected stowaway on the Mayflower. So while the White House is busy hawking America as a land overflowing with opportunity, Trump's bureaucrats are standing at the gates saying, “Sure, come build here”—just don’t bring the people who know how.
The raid on the Hyundai plant in Georgia was supposed to be an immigration crackdown. Instead, it turned into an international incident and a diplomatic mugging that made America look like the fella in the pub who punches his best friend for buying him a drink. The South Korean business community erupted, construction on the plant froze, and Hyundai and LG hit pause on business travel to the United States. Seoul, in its diplomatic way, essentially told Washington: We were about to hand you billions of dollars, and you decided to perp-walk our engineers on camera? Kim Yong-beom, the South Korean president’s policy director, warned that investment plans are off the table until Trump’s immigration antics stop embarrassing their executives.
When the government of South Korea is calmly explaining to the White House that humiliating foreign partners isn’t a winning business strategy, you can begin to appreciate the scale of the self-inflicted shit-show.
It’s a domestic and foreign policy failure of such staggering stupidity that it could only be the work of the Trump administration.
I appreciate your Irish perspective and feel obliged to point out that no criminal charges have been brought against those arrested. One also has to wonder what the American press is not telling us.
I wonder what their retaliation will be?