ATLANTA (AP) \u2014 Can Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp be tough on immigration and still encourage foreign investment?<\/p>\n
Kemp<\/a> has courted foreign investment to his state but also once offered to use his own pickup truck to round up \u201ccriminal illegals.\u201d<\/a> Those two stances collided this past week when immigration authorities raided a battery plant and detained foreign workers, putting Kemp in a tough spot. <\/p>\n Some 475 people were held 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> 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.<\/p>\n The detentions sparked questions in South Korea<\/a> about its relationship with the United States, especially when Hyundai and its partners. Hyundai has said it\u2019s investing $26 billion<\/a> 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<\/a>, but a separate $5 billion battery joint venture in Cartersville, Georgia<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n Kemp has voiced support for immigration enforcement but been restrained in the raid\u2019s aftermath.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 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,\u201d the governor\u2019s office said Friday in a written statement.<\/p>\n Kemp can\u2019t run again for governor in 2026 and passed up a U.S. Senate race<\/a>, but has entertained talk of a 2028 run for president. He hasn\u2019t yet said anything about whether the raid will have a long-term impact on Hyundai\u2019s investments. On Friday, his office said only that the state Department of Public Safety had coordinated with ICE to support the raid.<\/p>\n Kemp\u2019s office didn\u2019t immediately respond to further questions Tuesday.<\/p>\n This is his second term as governor and he\u2019s declared a goal of making Georgia the \u201c electric mobility capital of America.<\/a> \u201d But the Republican has also talked tough on illegal immigration, saying in a 2018 ad<\/a> that \u201cI\u2019ve got a big truck, just in case I\u2019ve got to round up some criminal illegals and take them home myself,\u201d and backing a state law<\/a> that requires local jails to check the immigration status of prisoners.<\/p>\n The raid comes as Kemp has been aligning more closely with President Donald Trump\u2019s administration on immigration enforcement and other issues. The governor has a long history of asserting his independence from Trump<\/a>, which has at times led to headline-grabbing conflict<\/a>. 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<\/a> to take part in Trump\u2019s law enforcement takeover in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Kemp disputes claims that tax dollars were subsidizing the jobs of those detained. His administration says none of the $2.1 billion in projected<\/a> state and local incentives for the Hyundai complex directly benefits subcontractors who employ detainees.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout exception, the Department of Economic Development expects anyone doing business in Georgia to follow federal and state laws,\u201d the department said.<\/p>\n Kemp has welcomed green energy investment and jobs, but has clashed with Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff<\/a> over who should get credit for Georgia\u2019s green energy boom.<\/p>\n Kemp sharply disputes<\/a> 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<\/a>. <\/p>\n