So now the Diplomats are “Expressing Regret” over the ICE raids at the Hyundai plant in Georgia…..
Funny, the workers WERE here illegally, many never having the correct visa and others having overstayed theirs.
And lets not forget that they company got 2.1 BILLION dollars in “incentives” because they were supposed to be hiring Americans…instead of employing South Koreans.
Yet, for some reason, the US diplomats always grovel and apologize.
No wonder they are held in contempt my the rest of the people.
The correct answer is: “Now get things right and we will work with you to get temporary visas for your people so they can finish the plant and train the domestic folks that will replace them, and help you take steps to make sure this doesn’t happen to your other workers at the other plants you are building (to keep from having to pay tariffs) in the United States so that this doesn’t happen next time. Play nice and all good, break the rules, get treated like every other illegal. ”
But don’t apologize for enforcing your own laws, fer chrissake.
The Korean workers were there to build the plant and set things up to Hyundai’s specifications, things for which Korean experts were probably necessary. The plant would have hired Americans for permanent jobs once it was operational. The arrested Koreans were held in grossly inhumane, unsanitary, and probably illegal conditions, which is causing a huge stink back in South Korea.
The biggest issue, from the US viewpoint, is that many foreign companies which had been planning to build and invest here are now reconsidering because they know their people may not be safe here. Once the Koreans were released, Trump asked them to stay on and finish their jobs setting up the plant in Georgia, but most of them refused.
This raid could end up doing substantial damage to the US economy. The government now has to try to repair the damage before any major investment projects actually get canceled.
And most were illegally here.
Why should Koreans be treated any differently than Mexicans and South American illegals?
They knew they were illegal is chose to stay anyway. And the original 2.1 BILLION grant was for them to be working alongside and training their American counterparts, which wasn’t happening. THe Koreans weren’t playing by the rules they agreed to.
The “Inhumane and unsanitary” conditions were standard detention facilities, not unsanitary and not inhumane, just not comfortable….
Tell the WHOLE story.
Diplomats have forgotten that their first priority is to make deals that benefit the US. And diplomatic posts are given as rewards instead of being based on skill in negotiation. Diplomacy used to be called an art for a reason and it’s long gone.