Why Trump Immigration Raid Snared South Korea Workers Over Visas

The detention of hundreds of South Korean workers at a battery plant in Georgia last week raises questions about how aggressively firms can invest in America when the Trump administration takes a harder line on visa paperwork.

The surprise immigration raid on Sept. 4 at the flagship joint venture between Hyundai Motor Co. and LG Energy Solution Ltd. left roughly 300 skilled engineers and subcontractors in custody. A few weeks earlier, US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung held a summit to bolster their alliance and secure a trade deal, with a promise of hefty investment in the US.