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ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has courted foreign investment to his state and has also talked so tough about immigration he once offered to use his own pickup truck to round up “criminal illegals.” Those key issues collided this past week when immigration authorities raided a battery plant and detained foreign workers, putting Kemp in a tough spot. Can he be both tough on immigration and encourage foreign companies to invest?
Some 475 people were detained in the raid, including more than 300 South Koreans, at the construction site for a battery plant that will be operated by HL-GA Battery Co., a joint venture between Hyundai and LG Energy Solution slated to open next year. The battery plant is part of a $7.6 billion complex planned to eventually employ 8,500 people. It was announced and then expanded after trips by Kemp to South Korea to court officials at Hyundai and other firms.
The detentions sparked questions in South Korea about its relationship with the United States, especially when Hyundai and its partners. Hyundai has said it’s investing $26 billion in the United States from 2025 to 2028. That includes not only the plant in Ellabell, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Savannah where Hyundai Motor Group makes electric vehicles, but a separate $5 billion battery joint venture in Cartersville, Georgia, a steel mill in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, a robotics hub and expansion of the Hyundai plant in Montgomery, Alabama and the Kia Corp. plant in West Point, Georgia.
Kemp has voiced support for immigration enforcement but been restrained in the raid’s aftermath.
“In Georgia, we will always enforce the law, including all state and federal immigration laws. All companies operating within the state must follow the laws of Georgia and our nation,” the governor’s office said Friday in a written statement.
Kemp can’t run again for governor in 2026 and passed up a U.S. Senate race, but has entertained talk of a 2028 run for president. He hasn’t yet said anything about whether the raid will have a long-term impact on Hyundai’s investments. On Friday, his office said only that the state Department of Public Safety had coordinated with ICE to support the raid.
Kemp’s office didn’t immediately respond to further questions Tuesday.
This is his second term as governor and he’s declared a goal of making Georgia the “ electric mobility capital of America. ” But the Republican has also talked tough on illegal immigration, saying in a 2018 ad that “I’ve got a big truck, just in case I’ve got to round up some criminal illegals and take them home myself,” and backing a state law that requires local jails to check the immigration status of prisoners.
The raid comes as Kemp has been aligning more closely with President Donald Trump’s administration on immigration enforcement and other issues. The governor has a long history of asserting his independence from Trump, which has at times led to headline-grabbing conflict. But Kemp last month announced he would mobilize 75 National Guard soldiers to provide support to Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Georgia. He followed that by announcing he would send more than 300 National Guard members to take part in Trump’s law enforcement takeover in Washington, D.C.
Like most governors, Kemp seeks foreign investment, which has built up most of the auto industry in the South. Kemp has journeyed twice to South Korea to meet with Hyundai and other big investors in Georgia, including electric battery maker LG Group.
Kemp disputes claims that tax dollars were subsidizing the jobs of those detained. His administration says none of the $2.1 billion in projected state and local incentives for the Hyundai complex directly benefits subcontractors who employ detainees.
“Without exception, the Department of Economic Development expects anyone doing business in Georgia to follow federal and state laws,” the department said.
Kemp has welcomed green energy investment and jobs, but has clashed with Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff over who should get credit for Georgia’s green energy boom.
Kemp sharply disputes that incentives signed by President Joe Biden spurred investment, saying industries were already coming to Georgia before the Inflation Reduction Act was passed in 2022. But if anything, the rush accelerated after Biden signed his climate law.
The 33 additional projects announced by the end of 2024 were the most nationwide, according to E2, an environmental business group. Exact figures differ, but projects in Georgia top $20 billion, pledging more than 25,000 jobs. Hyundai has continued investing even as Trump and congressional Republicans rolled back electric vehicle incentives.
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