Part 4 of 4: Two workers died building a battery plant. Then ICE raided it. Then Trump said we need the workers back. The timeline reveals what “skilled worker shortage” actually means.
By the High Country Advocate Staff
On November 11, Fox News host Laura Ingraham told President Trump that America has “plenty of talented people here.” Trump disagreed: “No, you don’t.”
The exchange outraged his base. “American talent split the atom and went to the moon,” wrote Logan Hall of The Blaze.
But Trump pointed to Georgia as proof: “They had people from South Korea that made batteries.” Those Korean workers, Trump said, had been “making batteries all their lives.” It’s “very complicated.”
Except the Korean workers weren’t making batteries. They were building a construction site. And two of them died doing it—months before ICE showed up.
The Deaths Nobody Mentions
On March 24, 2025, Sunbok You, 67, was killed when a forklift dragged him. His body was severed in half, according to local station WTOC. On May 21, Allen Kowalski, 27, died when a load fell off a forklift at the Hyundai-LG battery plant construction site in Bryan County, Georgia.
These weren’t “specialized battery technicians.” They were construction workers building the physical structure of a plant that still isn’t operational. Federal OSHA investigators found widespread safety violations. James Stanley, a former OSHA official, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “There is a culture change that needs to occur on the project, and it doesn’t appear that it’s occurring.”
The battery installation work—the actual specialized work that might require Korean expertise—hasn’t started yet. Two people died during construction. The high-tech installation phase hasn’t begun.
September 4: The Largest Raid in ICE History
Five months after the deaths, federal agents conducted the largest single-site immigration enforcement operation in DHS history. ICE detained 475 workers at the Hyundai-LG construction site. Over 300 were Korean nationals.
The workers were charged with visa violations. Many had entered on ESTA visas for tourism or business visits. Others held B-1 business visas. Neither allows manual labor. The Korean workers weren’t training Americans or overseeing technical installations. They were doing construction work.
Workers were held at Folkston ICE Processing Center for approximately one week. Multiple workers later reported being shackled, phones confiscated, and held in cold, crowded conditions.
On September 11-12, following diplomatic negotiations, a chartered Korean Air flight carried 316 Korean workers home. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung called the raid “bewildering.” Korean media across the political spectrum expressed outrage.
October 27: Trump’s Reversal
Six weeks later, President Trump reversed course. Speaking on Air Force One en route to meet Korean President Lee, Trump said he was “very much opposed” to the raid his own administration conducted.
“They’re going to be coming back,” Trump said. “When they come in, they’re making very complex machinery, equipment, things.”
The workers weren’t making complex machinery. They were building walls. The complex machinery installation hasn’t started yet because construction was delayed by the raid.
Hyundai CEO José Muñoz told reporters the raid set back the plant’s opening by “two or three months” because “the knowledge is not here.”
Construction knowledge isn’t here?
The $2.1 Billion Question
Georgia gave Hyundai $2.1 billion—the largest economic development deal in state history. The requirement: “Create 8,500 jobs by 2031.”
That’s it. No training requirements. No specifications about American workers. No enforcement for safety violations that killed two people.
What Georgia should have required: “For every $100 million in subsidies, train 250 American workers.” Establish 12-18 month training programs. Implement training cost liability—if a trained worker leaves within three years, the poaching company pays training costs.
Instead, Georgia wrote a blank check. Two workers died during construction. Hundreds more were detained for visa violations doing work Americans could have done. The battery installation phase still hasn’t begun.
What “Skills Shortage” Actually Means
The Hyundai timeline reveals what “skills shortage” means: Companies won’t provide 12-18 months of training. It’s cheaper to import workers on temporary visas at below-market wages than train Americans at market rates.
Computer Science graduates face 7.5% unemployment—more than double the national average. Yet companies claim they can’t find talent. Intel’s Arizona fab needs 3,000 workers. Seventy percent need training that takes 10 days to one year. Intel already runs a Quick Start program. Yet Intel still requests H-1B workers.
The H-1B visa system allows companies to pay “Level I” workers 36% below median wages. Most H-1B workers in computer-related jobs—66% of all H-1B positions—get placed at these lower tiers.
Traditional expat workers get paid 100% more than local rates. H-1B workers get paid 36% less and can’t change employers. It’s the opposite of how international labor markets work.
Colorado’s Stakes
Every state offering manufacturing subsidies faces the same question: Will we require companies to train Americans, or subsidize cheaper foreign labor?
Colorado STEM graduates from CU Boulder, Colorado State, and Mines compete for jobs that companies claim they can’t fill. When Front Range facilities choose H-1B workers over training Coloradans, mountain communities lose twice: first when jobs go to visa workers, second when those workers need housing in tight mountain markets.
The federal CHIPS Act distributed $52 billion without requiring specific training numbers. Every semiconductor fab, EV plant, and battery facility can take taxpayer subsidies and still claim “we can’t find workers” while Computer Science graduates sit at 7.5% unemployment.
What Actually Happened
Strip away the spin:
March-May 2025: Two construction workers die from preventable accidents. OSHA finds widespread safety violations.
September 4: ICE raids site, detains 475 workers on visa violations. The “specialized battery technicians” were doing construction work.
September 11-12: Workers fly home after diplomatic negotiations.
October 27: Trump says workers should return because “the knowledge is not here.”
November 11: Trump tells Ingraham Americans don’t have talented people.
Two workers died. Hundreds got detained. The plant opening got delayed. And the President said Americans don’t have the talent to do work that killed people doing it.
The specialized battery installation work hasn’t started yet. When it does, the question should be: Did Georgia’s $2.1 billion require Hyundai to train Americans? Or did Georgia just write a check and hope for jobs?
The deaths show what happens when subsidies come with no training requirements. The raid reveals what “skilled workers” actually means. And Trump’s comment to Ingraham shows what everyone already knew: When companies say they can’t find talent, they mean they can’t find Americans willing to work for H-1B wages.
This is Part 4 of a 4-part series investigating the H-1B visa system, corporate training failures, and the real meaning of “skills shortage.” Part 1 examined the semiconductor skills gap. Part 2 exposed the H-1B wage suppression system. Part 3 documented American engineering graduates unable to find jobs while companies claim shortages.
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