President Donald Trump has offered the 300 South Koreans rounded up and detained during an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid in Georgia the opportunity to remain in the United States.
“Each person was allowed to choose, and the U.S. government said essentially, ‘If you want to go, you may go; if you want to stay, you may stay,'” South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said at a news conference Thursday that one person had decided to stay.
The offer represents a shift from last week’s raid, when Trump urged foreign companies to “please respect our nation’s immigration laws” and “hire and train American workers.”
Trump’s overture aimed to allow South Koreans with illegal immigration status to remain and train American workers.
Last week, 300 South Koreans and 150 others were arrested at a Georgia construction site for a $4.3 billion Hyundai and LG Energy Solution factory that will manufacture car batteries.
The raid was promoted by Trump administration immigration officials, but it occurred at a sensitive time in the relationship between the United States and its ally South Korea. The two countries are currently in trade talks, and Trump has encouraged South Korea to build plants in the United States.
Lee claimed that South Korean businesses operating in the United States were in a “serious state of confusion.”
For years, South Korean companies have complained about their inability to obtain short-term work visas for their specialists, forcing them to rely on a lax interpretation of immigration law allowed by previous administrations.
Following the raid, Washington and Seoul will discuss creating a new visa category for Koreans, according to the country’s foreign minister, Cho Hyun.
“Our businesses that are investing in the United States will no doubt be very hesitant,” Lee told reporters.
