On Sunday, September 14, we published an extensive, carefully documented note about the Georgia Hyundai battery plant ICE raid and broad impact: “The Hyundai Affair,” https://dkotok.substack.com/p/the-hyundai-affair.
With the help of Norm Dempsey of Tech McGyver, we have a six-minute YouTube video explainer, based on last week’s piece, “The Hyundai Affair — ICE Raid’s Investment Impact,” that outlines the big picture. This is a new type of feature at the Kotok Report, and it provides a succinct audio-visual summary.
President Trump responded after the raid, demonstrating awareness of the visa problems faced by Hyundai, LGES, and other international companies investing in US-based manufacturing:
(Image source: https://x.com/koryodynasty/status/1967379473378209923/photo/1)
In my view President Trump can post this and no one believes him because his own Homeland Security and ICE team are demonstrably inept and make his policy comments appear disingenuous. They do this with their actions. Why would a skilled foreign worker come to America on a business visa after they have witnessed their colleagues beaten up or insulted by gun-toting ICE federal agents? Would you come?
In an executive order on Friday, September 19, Trump himself further complicated the challenges faced by corporations attempting to invest in US operations, by announcing an annual fee for H-1B visas of $100,000 per year. Question for readers: Do you think this move helps economics in the US, hurts it, or results in no change? And as an aside, consider the impact of $100k annual H-1B visa fees on US healthcare. On Twitter, Nick Mark MD noted the impact on the approximately 10,000 residency spots filled by holders of H-1B visas. His conclusion? “No hospital will pay a $100k fee for a $55k resident salary.” Yesterday, the administration announced that the $100,000 fee will be assessed only for new H-1B visas, not previously issued ones.
International reaction to a vastly increased visa cost is already underway, and repercussions will follow. We’re already seeing some of the headlines (not an exhaustive list, just a sample):
“Big Tech firms scramble after Trump slaps $100,000 fee on H-1B visas” | CNBC, https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/20/trump-h-1b-visa-tech-foreign-governments.html
“South Korea aims to resolve US visa issues before executing $350 bln investment” | Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/china/south-korea-aims-resolve-us-visa-issues-before-executing-350-bln-investment-2025-09-19/
“New US H-1B visa fee could disrupt Indian IT operations, says industry body” | Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/new-us-h-1b-visa-fee-could-disrupt-indian-it-operations-says-industry-body-2025-09-20/
Some readers asked for details about the 22 South Korean-US projects put at risk because of the Hyundai ICE raid in Georgia. We provide some further information below. But first, a few readers comments may be helpful.
Harry Moser, who is president of the Reshoring Initiative, sent a note and his organization’s “2025 Reshoring Survey Report.” Readers, please note the emphasis on people and skills needed and training needed. I quote from the report’s key takeaways (p. 36):
On Workforce Development
OEMs placed much higher priority on a skilled workforce than on tariffs, currency, tax rates or regulations. Any significant reindustrialization is impossible without a national commitment to having a skilled manufacturing workforce. At current levels of productivity, 5M more manufacturing employees are required to enable the 40% output increase to eliminate the goods trade deficit. So, at least 3 or 4M more, assuming substantially higher productivity.
31% of OEMs and 26% of CMs said that deporting illegal immigrants would have a negative impact on their business, emphasizing the criticality of a robust labor force at all skill levels.
Ray S. offered this wisdom:
Miscommunications about enforcements are evident. The Administration’s zeal for removing undesirables, illegals with Hispanic names has been unfairly mixed with deportation efforts of highly desirable documented temporary workers from a critical global ally South Korea. The infrastructure issue surely must be another component in the confusion. Union workers initially performing necessary infrastructure activities are being pitted against South Korean workers doing jobs requiring expertise not immediately available and likely requiring months to years to achieve quality metrics. The Georgia Congressional representative must have been mistaken, ill-informed, and far too hasty with what in essence was “throwing the baby out with the bathwater.” Allies are friends, not foes.
David L. shared his experience:
I was pleasantly surprised to see that Trump apparently grasps the conflicting issues involved. I was tasked with procuring all the manufacturing equipment for my company’s first plant in China. We did essentially what Hyundai did; we used local Chinese skilled labor for infrastructure installation and American employees for specialized equipment installation and startup. For sophisticated equipment we bought from Japan, for example, the Japanese technicians did the install and startup. I guess the fuzzy issue with Hyundai is how many of the South Koreans and others had the proper temporary visas. My experience with South Koreans is that they are of a “git ‘er done” mentality and the Hyundai folks had likely grown impatient with the cumbersome US visa system.
Steve S. sent this perception:
I think your essay is part of the longstanding (for at least 101 years, after the US shut its then-open borders) challenge that I call four-sided polygon problem:
- Immigration. The rules (and enforcement) of immigration. The US need immigrants. There are 100s of millions that want to come. How do we set the rules?
- U.S. labor policy
- Attracting foreign investment
- Property rights. What can the owners of U.S. domiciled companies do and not do, both across the U.S. and within the 50 sovereign states that comprise the United States.
I have a very successful friend who immigrated to the U.S. from Central Europe many years ago. (The Russians were shooting at him and his dad as they fled.) I asked him what advice he would give to new immigrants. His response: Learn the language [English]; get a job. These six words are reasonable starting place for a discussion of the problem of the four-sided polygon.
Impact of US Immigration Enforcement on Korean Industrial Investments
In the wake of a major immigration raid at the Hyundai–LG Energy Solution battery plant in Georgia, Korean industrial investments in the United States have come under intense scrutiny. Over 475 workers were detained, including more than 300 South Korean nationals, triggering diplomatic tensions and operational disruptions.
An explainer from The Current delves into the companies involved with the Hyundai plant raided by ICE:
“Explainer: What Hyundai companies are part of the Savannah-area car plant?” | The Current, https://thecurrentga.org/2025/09/08/explainer-hyundai-metaplant-project/
Beyond the Georgia project, at highest risk are those other operations that are also dependent on expertise that does not yet exist in the United States but must be sourced elsewhere. The Korea Economic Daily has identified a number of companies, in addition to Hyundai and LGES, whose successful operations in the US require the participation of international expertise and a rational visa policy to make their enormous, essential contributions to the US economy, including creating American jobs.
Chip facilities
Samsung Electronics Co. (Samsung Austin Semiconductor’s $17 billion new logic chip manufacturing plant in Taylor, Texas, will employ 1800 in its first decade of operation and adds to an $18 billion invested in its nearby Austin manufacturing since 1996. In the meantime, its construction has generated thousands of jobs in the area and “injected $8.6 billion into the local economy” in 2024 alone.)
SK Hynix Inc. (A leading supplier of memory chips and semiconductors, with primary locations in California, North Carolina, and Oregon, SK Hynix’s projects and investments actually stretch across the US and include multiple industries and partnerships.)
Battery plants
Samsung SDI Co. (GM has partnered with Samsung SDI Co. to build a battery cell plant in Indiana, slated to open in 2027. When completed, the plant will bring 1700 new jobs to the South Bend area. The Indiana plant adds capacity for GM, which also has EV battery facilities in Ohio, Tennessee, and Michigan.)
SK On Co. (In partnership with Ford, SK On began producing American-made EV batteries last month in Glendale, KY, for its Ford F-150 Lightning trucks and E-Transit vans. Another plant is being built in Tennessee, but the partner companies have delayed its planned launch to 2027.)
Shipbuilding
Make American Shipbuilding Great Again (MASGA) ($150 billion joint US-Korea shipbuilding project involving HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean, and Samsung Heavy Industries) On training and staffing challenges, see “Korean firms gear up to train U.S. shipbuilders in MASGA push” | Korea JoongAng Daily, https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-08-04/business/economy/Korean-firms-gear-up-to-train-US-shipbuilders-in-MASGA-push/2367990. See also
“Hanwha sets Busan, Philadelphia as twin hubs for MASGA US shipbuilding, MRO projects” | KED Global, https://www.kedglobal.com/kiw-2025/newsView/ked202509150011
Steel
Hyundai Steel Co. in Louisiana (This $5.8 billion project is “expected to create more than https://www.opportunitylouisiana.gov/hyundai-steel.”)
Power Equipment
HD Hyundai Electric Co. (Hyundai Electric American has companies in 14 US states: Albany NY, Appleton WI, Birmingham AL, Denver CO, Duluth GA, Espanola NM, Everett WA, Houston TX, Mechanicsville VA, Norcross GA, Portland OR, Sacramento CA, South Lyon MI, and Tallahassee FL.)
Hyosung Heavy Industries Co. (Among its many US projects, “power system and machinery conglomerate” Hyosung Heavy Industries has plans to double its output of transformers at its Memphis, TN, plant.)
LS Electric Co. (Three subsidiaries of LS Electric Co. operate in five states in the US —Illinois, North Carolina, Utah, Texas, and California. LS Electric specializes in power supply technology and automation.)
Power equipment projects conducted here in the US by companies operating globally require the deployment of hundreds of employees from headquarters and partner companies, whereas semiconductor, chemical, and finance-related investments remain relatively stable.
Kotok Conclusion
Policies are only as good as their execution is. We can agree or disagree over the Trump economic policy. Our agreement or disagreement won’t change anything. But the failure of process and the ineptitude in administration and the insufficient preparation and research are resulting in a lot of damage to President Trump’s economic agenda. Homeland Security and ICE are the most glaring examples of the unintended consequences originating in poor execution. For example, a search warrant for four individuals with Hispanic names ends up deporting 300 Korean skilled workers. Other examples are coming soon. Watch what happens when the proposed $100,000 H-1B visa fee is implemented. We will have more on that in the future. The sequence of economic malfunction and increased imposed financial penalties is slowly undermining American growth. Are we in recession yet? No. Have we reached a “stall speed”? It’s looking more likely. The Fed doesn’t implement Trump’s industrial policy. Therefore, a lower short-term interest rate cannot fix the ineptitude of a failure by a government agency. Don’t blame the Fed for the ICE damage to the economy.
Sources and Additional Reading
“Shackled and chained: Mass detention of Koreans fuels criticism of US” | Korea Times, https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/foreignaffairs/20250914/shackled-and-chained-mass-detention-of-koreans-fuels-criticism-of-us
“Trump to impose $100,000 fee per year for H-1B visas, in blow to tech” | Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/trump-mulls-adding-new-100000-fee-h-1b-visas-bloomberg-news-reports-2025-09-19/
Tweet by Nick Mark MD (@nickmmark), September 19: https://x.com/nickmmark/status/1969186304966455299.
“US new H-1B visa fee will not apply to existing holders, White House says” | Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-new-h-1b-visa-fee-will-not-apply-existing-holders-axios-reports-2025-09-20/
“Big Tech firms scramble after Trump slaps $100,000 fee on H-1B visas” | CNBC, https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/20/trump-h-1b-visa-tech-foreign-governments.html
“South Korea aims to resolve US visa issues before executing $350 bln investment” | Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/china/south-korea-aims-resolve-us-visa-issues-before-executing-350-bln-investment-2025-09-19/
“New US H-1B visa fee could disrupt Indian IT operations, says industry body” | Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/new-us-h-1b-visa-fee-could-disrupt-indian-it-operations-says-industry-body-2025-09-20/
“2025 Reshoring Survey Report” | Reshoring Initiative, https://reshorenow.org/blog/reshoring-survey-reveals-priorities-for-reindustrialization-improve-skilled-workforce-use-tco-prep-for-geopolitical-risk/
“Explainer: What Hyundai companies are part of the Savannah-area car plant?” | The Current, https://thecurrentga.org/2025/09/08/explainer-hyundai-metaplant-project/
“Korea’s major US investment projects halted as detained LG Energy workers set for release” | KED Global, https://www.kedglobal.com/business-politics/newsView/ked202509080002
