Donald Trump has delivered a strong message to international firms, urging them to prioritize hiring American workers following a raid at a Hyundai plant where 475 employees were apprehended.

On Thursday, immigration agents conducted a raid at the Hyundai Battery Plant in Georgia, the largest in US history by Homeland Security. Video footage showed numerous workers being lined up and moved to a nearby area under the supervision of federal agents.

A total of 475 individuals suspected of working illegally in the US were detained, most of them being from South Korea. These arrests accounted for nearly half of the plant’s workforce of 1,200 employees.

In a Truth Social post on Sunday night, Trump used the raid as a warning for other foreign companies operating on US land.

Trump addressed the situation with a statement: ‘Following the Immigration Enforcement Operation at the Hyundai Battery Plant in Georgia, I urge all foreign companies investing in the United States to comply with our nation’s immigration laws,’ he asserted.

‘We welcome your investments and encourage you to legally bring your talented people to help create world-class products,’ he mentioned.

Trump vowed to ‘make it quickly and legally possible for you to do so’ – with a caveat that he expected investment in US employees in return.

‘In return, we ask you to hire and train American workers. Together, our efforts will not only make our nation more productive but will also foster greater unity,’ he concluded.

Trump’s statement comes after South Korean officials confirmed as many as 300 of the workers will be released and supported to return home to Korea.

Kang Hoon-sik, chief of staff for President Lee Jae Myung, said South Korea and the US had finalized negotiations on the workers’ release. 

He said South Korea plans to send a charter plane to bring the workers home as soon as remaining administrative steps are completed.

The operation was the latest in a long line of workplace raids conducted as part of the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda. 

But the one Thursday is especially distinct because of its large size and because the targeted site has been touted as Georgia’s largest economic development project. 

The raid stunned many in South Korea because the country is a key US ally. It agreed in July to purchase $100 billion in US energy and make a $350 billion investment in the US in return for the US lowering tariff rates. 

Many of those who were detained had entered the US illegally while others previously had visas but overstayed their legal work permits, officials said.  

Steven Schrank, the special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia, added that the raid was the result of a months-long investigation into the facility.

He described the sweep as the largest enforcement operation at a single site in the history of Homeland Security Investigations. 

‘This operation underscores our commitment to protecting jobs for Georgians and Americans, ensuring a level playing field for businesses that comply with the law, safeguarding the integrity of our economy and protecting workers from exploitation,’ he said. 

The massive raid comes days after the Trump administration announced it was stepping up its deportation efforts and would clear the way to detain as many as 256,000 Venezuelans by ending their temporary protection status. 

Korean ministry officials also urged the US Embassy in Seoul ‘to exercise extreme caution to ensure that the legitimate rights and interests of Korean citizens are not infringed upon.’

‘The economic activities of Korean investment companies and the rights and interests of Korean citizens must not be unfairly infringed upon during US law enforcement operations,’ the statement read. 

Following the raid on the Hyundai factory on Thursday, officials said the detainees would be moved to an ICE facility in Folkston, Georgia, near the Florida-Georgia state line. 

‘They will be moved based on their individual circumstances beyond that,’ Schrank said. 

The move was quickly condemned by Yvonne Brooks, the president of Georgia’s chapter of American Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), who blasted it as ‘politically motivated.’ 

‘This raid is the latest in an ongoing campaign of harassment that has targeted immigrant Georgians as they try to earn an honest living,’ she said in a statement, per CBS News. 

‘Arresting and detaining workers, who are exploited every day and risk their lives every day on the job, creates an atmosphere of fear that terrorizes workers and their families and increases the workload burden on their coworkers.’ 

The Hyundai plant where the raid occurred cost upwards of $7.6 billion and employed around 1,200 people, and had been touted by Georgia officials as one of the most significant economic projects in the state’s history. 

Hyundai began manufacturing electric vehicles at the plant a year ago, but construction was shut down by the raid.