Analysts roundly criticized President Donald Trump's explanation on Sunday night of why immigration officials raided a Hyundai electric car battery plant in Georgia.
On Friday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials detained 475 South Korean workers who were helping set up with battery plant in Georgia. In 2023, the company announced it would spend $2 billion to build the plant.
Trump justified the move on Sunday in a post on Truth Social by telling foreign companies to "respect" American immigration law.
"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," Trump's post reads. "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."
Analysts criticized Trump's response on social media.
"'Here illegally' is almost certainly a lie," Rick Petree, managing director at Global Power Partners, posted on X. "But more importantly, Trump is effectively saying the Hyundai raid is justified by the same protectionist instincts that underpin his tariff policies. 'Foreigners out!' is his message."
"It makes me think he’s extremely worried about the international incident he just caused," journalist Matt Novak wrote on Bluesky. "What foreign company is going to make investments in a country where their workers are just getting jailed arbitrarily?"
"It really is difficult to destroy the greatest economy in the world in less than a year, but he is always looking to find new ways to do it," journalist Ron Filipkowski posted on X.
"This plant wasn’t scheduled to start running until late 2025 or early 2026," Democratic analyst Christopher Webb posted on X. "These workers weren’t taking jobs; they were building the factory that would create them."