White House: "Foreign Workers Needed in Early Stages of Battery and Other Plant Construction"

Soothing Supporters' Discontent

The White House has announced that President Donald Trump wants foreign companies investing in the United States-such as in the battery sector-to bring foreign workers to the U.S. during the initial stages of establishing manufacturing facilities.

On the 24th (local time), White House Spokesperson Caroline Levitt responded to a reporter's question at the White House, "Is supporting the replacement of American workers with H-1B visa holders in line with the MAGA (Make America Great Again) spirit?" by clarifying the administration's position.

Caroline Levitt, White House Spokesperson. Photo by UPI News Agency

Levitt stated, "The President does not support replacing American workers," and pointed out to the reporter, "You are distorting the President's remarks."

She continued, "On the issue of H-1B visas, the President holds a very nuanced yet common-sense view. He wants to see foreign companies investing trillions of dollars in the U.S. bring in foreign workers to create highly specialized sectors, such as batteries."

Levitt added, "The President wants to see this only in the early stages of building and operating manufacturing facilities and plants. Ultimately, he always wants American workers to hold those jobs." She also said, "The President has told foreign companies investing in the U.S. that they must hire our citizens if they want to do business here. Therefore, there has been a lot of misunderstanding about the President's position."

The "highly specialized sectors such as batteries" mentioned by Levitt is interpreted as referring to sites like the joint battery plant under construction by Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution in Georgia, where a collective detention incident involving Korean workers recently occurred. At the same time, her remarks appear intended to address the concerns of Trump's core MAGA supporters, who oppose the influx of foreign workers, even as the President has recently emphasized the necessity of the H-1B visa for skilled foreign professionals.

On the 19th, at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum, President Trump acknowledged pushback from his supporters but stressed that large-scale advanced technology projects cannot commence without skilled personnel. In a Fox News interview on the 11th, he also referenced the Georgia incident, saying, "They brought in about 500 to 600 workers in the initial stage to make batteries and teach others how to do it. But there were attempts to expel them from the country."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.