SEOUL (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump has justified U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's arrest of hundreds of South Koreans who were working illegally at a car battery plant construction site in Georgia, but suggested allowing foreign experts to stay in the country while they train Americans in advanced industries.
The facility is being built by South Korean multinational conglomerate LG and South Korean automobile manufacturing giant Hyundai.
ICE special agents, in collaboration with federal, state and local law enforcement officials, arrested 475 immigrant workers - most of them South Korean nationals - last week saying that they were executing a federal search warrant as part of 'an active, ongoing criminal investigation'.
'This operation specifically focused on serious allegations of unlawful employment practices and other potential federal crimes,' according to an ICE press release.
The arrested workers were found to be working illegally, in violation of the terms of their visas and/or statuses, it added.
'We welcome all companies who want to invest in the U.S., and if they need to bring workers in for building or other projects, that's fine - but they need to do it the legal way,' said Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama Steven N. Schrank.
Responding to a question by a reporter about the ICE operation on Sunday, Trump said, 'If you don't have people in this country right now that know about batteries, maybe we should help them along'. He added that industries like shipbuilding and computer manufacturing also need skilled trainers. 'So, we're going to look at that whole situation. We have a lot of industries that we don't have any more, and we're going to have to train people.'
South Korean foreign minister Cho Hyun is reportedly heading to the United States Monday to help secure the release of the Korean workers and return them to their country.
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