--:-- [Theme music fades out]
--:-- Scott Simon: South Korea wants answers after an immigration raid here in the U.S. The raid netted hundreds of workers at a site of a plant that Hyundai and a battery maker are building in Georgia.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: I'm Scott Simon. And I'm Aisha Roscoe. It's Up First from NPR News.
--:-- Scott Simon: The raid near Savannah comes as the administration says it wants to send more National Guard to more cities, citing public safety. But NPR has learned that ICE wants Pentagon support for operations in one of those target cities.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: We have the latest from Chicago, as well as on that Savannah raid. And here in D.C., growing influence for a pastor from rural Idaho. Why Doug Wilson has the administration's ear.
--:-- Scott Simon: So stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.
--:-- Scott Simon: This message comes from BetterHelp. It's only human to ask others for advice, like turning to your barista, hairdresser, or a taxi driver for life advice. But when you're looking for help about relationships, anxiety, depression, or other clinical issues, they may not have all the right answers.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Instead, get guidance from a licensed therapist online with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash NPR for 10% off your first month.
--:-- Scott Simon: This message comes from NetSuite. What does the future hold for business? Can someone invent a crystal ball? Until then, over 42,000 businesses have future-proofed their business with NetSuite by Oracle, the number one AI cloud ERP, bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, and HR into one platform.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: With real-time insights and forecasting, you're able to peer into the future and seize new opportunities. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine Learning for free at netsuite.com slash story. plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details.
--:-- Scott Simon: First to Chicago. President Trump is ramping up his threats to send the National Guard there, even after a federal judge said his use of troops in Los Angeles back in June was illegal.
--:-- [Sound effects: news theme music]
--:-- Scott Simon: Chicago is just one of several major cities, alongside the likes of Baltimore and New Orleans, to which Trump says he would deploy the Guard for public safety, despite data showing that crime is down in those cities.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: NPR's Kat Lonsdorf is in Chicago and joins us now. Kat, thanks for being with us.
--:-- Kat Lonsdorf: Hey, good morning. What do we know now whether or not the president's going to deploy the National Guard there?
--:-- Scott Simon: Well, Trump has said that he will, but hasn't been specific about a time frame.
--:-- Kat Lonsdorf: Here he is earlier this week at a press conference talking about Chicago.
--:-- [Sound effects: news clip]
--:-- Kat Lonsdorf: Well, we're going in. I didn't say when we're going in. When you lose, look, I have an obligation. This isn't a political thing. I have an obligation.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Since then, an official has confirmed to NPR that the Department of Homeland Security has requested assistance from the Pentagon for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, in the Chicago metropolitan area.
--:-- Kat Lonsdorf: The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. ICE and the National Guard are different. The Guard is part of the military. ICE is federal law enforcement.
--:-- Scott Simon: But in D.C., for example, Trump's deployment of the National Guard came with a larger presence from ICE, too.
--:-- Kat Lonsdorf: Trump maintains that the National Guard would be sent here for public safety. You heard him there saying that this wouldn't be a political move. He sees it as an obligation.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: But generally, the National Guard is not used for policing. They can't make arrests or anything like that.
--:-- Kat Lonsdorf: In D.C., they've been patrolling federal property and picking up trash, that sort of thing.
--:-- Scott Simon: Elected officials in Chicago are not in line with this, are they?
--:-- Kat Lonsdorf: No, Governor J Pritzker, a Democrat and a big opponent of Trump, has come out strongly against it. In a statement, he said, "None of this is about fighting crime or making Chicago safer."
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Many other local politicians here, you know, Senators, aldermen, have said similar things. Democratic lawmakers in many other cities, Baltimore, for example, have said they plan to push back if Trump follows through with his threats.
--:-- Kat Lonsdorf: In Louisiana, though, Republican Governor Jeff Landry says he would welcome the troops if Trump sent them to New Orleans.
--:-- Scott Simon: And, you know, Trump himself has recently made crime an even bigger part of his political agenda, hoping that voters see big city crime as a major problem.
--:-- Kat Lonsdorf: And he thinks he seems to think that his crackdown on it, while mostly performative, will play out well for Republicans in the midterms next year.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: And what's the latest on the legal challenges?
--:-- Kat Lonsdorf: Well, earlier this week, a federal judge in California ruled that Trump's deployment of the National Guard there in L.A. in June violated a federal law that limits the use of the military for domestic law enforcement.
--:-- Scott Simon: But that ruling, which the Trump administration can appeal, only applies in California.
--:-- Kat Lonsdorf: In D.C., where the National Guard has been deployed for about a month, Trump has the authority to do so because of what's called the Home Rule Act. That gives him command of D.C.'s National Guard.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: But that, too, doesn't apply to these other cities.
--:-- Kat Lonsdorf: I'll note that even in D.C., D.C.'s attorney general still sued the Trump administration on Thursday over that deployment, saying it's illegal.
--:-- Scott Simon: There are times when the National Guard can legally be used in civilian law enforcement, but generally speaking, it has to be requested by each state's governor.
--:-- Kat Lonsdorf: Many experts say that what we're seeing here, with it being potentially forced on states, is uncharted territory, and it'll almost certainly lead to a lot more litigation.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: And Pierce Kat Lonsdorf in Chicago. Kat, thanks so much for being with us.
--:-- Kat Lonsdorf: Thank you.
--:-- [Sound effects: news theme music]
--:-- Scott Simon: Hundreds of workers were arrested by immigration authorities at a Hyundai plant near Savannah, Georgia this week.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Agents detain nearly 500 people in what Homeland Security is calling the largest immigration enforcement operation at a single site in U.S. history.
--:-- Scott Simon: And our immigration correspondent Jasmine Garst joins us.
--:-- Jasmine Garst: Hi, Scott. What do we know about this large operation?
--:-- Scott Simon: So the raid happened in Elabel, Georgia, which is right by Savannah, at a construction site for an electrical vehicle battery plant, which is co-owned by LG Energy Solution and the Hyundai Motor Group.
--:-- Jasmine Garst: It involved several law enforcement agencies. Homeland Security says this was a months-long investigation, and it culminated with a search warrant.
--:-- Scott Simon: They arrested 475 people, most of whom are South Korean citizens.
--:-- Jasmine Garst: And Homeland Security says the workers detained were in the U.S. illegally or working at the site unlawfully. They said some overstayed their visas, others unlawfully crossed the border.
--:-- Scott Simon: Here's Special Agent Stephen Schrenk.
--:-- [Sound effects: news clip]
--:-- Jasmine Garst: This operation underscores our commitment to protecting jobs for Georgians and Americans, ensuring a level playing field for businesses that comply with the law, safeguarding the integrity of our economy and protecting workers from exploitation.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: So far, no charges have been filed against the company or the workers, but officials say it is an ongoing investigation.
--:-- Scott Simon: Now, the plant was a major economic project supported by the state of Georgia and part of a multibillion-dollar facility that employs about 1,200 people.
--:-- Jasmine Garst: How have Georgia officials and the companies responded?
--:-- Scott Simon: The Georgia Department of Economic Development told NPR in a statement that they expect, quote, anyone doing business in Georgia to follow federal and state laws.
--:-- Jasmine Garst: Meanwhile, LG Energy Solutions said in a statement that employees of both companies have been taken into custody and that they are cooperating.
--:-- Scott Simon: But in a separate statement, Hyundai said none of those detained were Hyundai employees.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Now, of course, the Trump administration has had a campaign going to detain and arrest immigrants unlawfully in the U.S. But large workplace raids have so far been relatively rare.
--:-- Jasmine Garst: Do you think this represents a shift in policy?
--:-- Scott Simon: The Trump administration has vowed to hold companies accountable for employing people in the country illegally, but so far the policy has focused on arresting immigrants in smaller raids at a wide array of places, from Home Depot parking lots to construction sites and some farms.
--:-- Jasmine Garst: But this operation is the biggest workplace raid during this administration, and it happened in a red state in Georgia.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: On the same day, on Thursday, in central New York state, a food manufacturing plant was raided and dozens of people suspected of being in the country illegally were detained.
--:-- Scott Simon: Does that mean it's a big policy shift? We're going to have to see how frequent this becomes.
--:-- Jasmine Garst: And as you mentioned, most of those arrested were South Korean nationals. What response has there been from South Korea?
--:-- Scott Simon: The South Korean government expressed concern. Embassy officials were sent to the site of the raid.
--:-- Jasmine Garst: A foreign ministry spokesperson said, "The business activities of our investors and the rights of our nationals must not be unjustly infringed."
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: I just want to point out that President Trump has made it a priority to bring manufacturing to the U.S. In fact, just over a week ago, he hosted President Lee Jae-myung of South Korea, who pledged to invest an additional $150 billion in the U.S., including in battery factories.
--:-- Jasmine Garst: NPR's Yasmin Garst, thanks so much.
--:-- Jasmine Garst: Thank you for having me.
--:-- [Sound effects: news theme music]
--:-- Scott Simon: The National Conservatism Conference convened in Washington, D.C. this week, bringing together an influential group of conservative political and religious leaders.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Speakers included Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, several U.S. senators, and senior Trump administration officials.
--:-- Scott Simon: But one of the most anticipated speakers at NatCon was a pastor from Idaho named Doug Wilson.
--:-- Jack Jenkins: Hi, I'm Jack Jenkins of Religion News Service.
--:-- Scott Simon: So who is Pastor Doug Wilson and why were people so eager to hear from him at this conservatism conference featuring all these big name political speakers?
--:-- Jack Jenkins: So Wilson is based out of Moscow, Idaho, where he leads Christ Church. He's been around for decades and during that time he slowly built his own Christian empire of sorts.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: But it's really over the past five years that he's become a national figure, in part because of his open embrace of Christian nationalism.
--:-- Jack Jenkins: He's very publicly called for a Christian America where women can't vote and non-Christians and even liberal Christians are barred from holding office.
--:-- Scott Simon: And he's won some political allies. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attends worship at two of the churches in Wilson's denomination.
--:-- Jack Jenkins: So what did Wilson have to say?
--:-- Scott Simon: Well, this was Wilson's second time speaking at NatCon, and he's a popular figure there. You could see him getting mobbed in the hallways by fans in the conference.
--:-- Jack Jenkins: And during his talk, he laid out his argument for why the U.S. should be a nation led by and for Christians while also expressing his views on immigration.
--:-- Scott Simon: It is simply a historical fact that America was deeply Christian and Protestant at the founding.
--:-- Jack Jenkins: And he also said, in the meantime, it is not xenophobic to object to the immigration policies of those who want to turn the Michigan-Ohio border into something that resembles the India-Pakistan border.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: That kind of nonsense from our utopian social engineers is actually the root of our current set of practical dilemmas.
--:-- Scott Simon: And he's not limiting himself to this one annual conference. That's right.
--:-- Jack Jenkins: So back in July, he established a sort of outpost of his Idaho church that meets just a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol.
--:-- Scott Simon: It's currently housed in a space rented from a right-wing think tank.
--:-- Jack Jenkins: And in the first sermon delivered there, one of Wilson's pastors declared, Worship is Warfare.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: He later praised the Department of Government Efficiency and described the U as a fallen and lapsed nation that has drifted from its Christian roots.
--:-- Scott Simon: I was there for that first service and it was packed.
--:-- Jack Jenkins: And not only that, Secretary Hegseth was sitting right near the front and he's been there multiple times since.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: And folks expect him to be back in the pews again this Sunday when Wilson himself is expected to preach.
--:-- Scott Simon: Back to the National Conservatism Conference, what else did you hear there?
--:-- Jack Jenkins: There was a lot of opposition to immigration and a clear preference for white Americans with long family histories in the U.S.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Other speakers and panelists criticized feminism and same-sex marriage, and there was also an interesting amount of animus directed at AI and big tech.
--:-- Scott Simon: But if there was a recurring theme, it was that many speakers made a point to denigrate Islam and Muslims.
--:-- Jack Jenkins: One speaker told me he believes Muslim immigration should be zero, and others insisted that Islam, as a religion, is just incompatible with American values.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Still others mentioned the New York City mayoral campaign of Zoran Mamdani, a Muslim American, and Jack Posobiec, a right-wing influencer who was recently invited to travel with Hegseth on an international trip, had this to say.
--:-- Jack Jenkins: As I stand here today, we are less than 10 years away from one of America's great cities being run by a Muhammad.
--:-- Scott Simon: That was pretty typical rhetoric from this conference.
--:-- Jack Jenkins: And as I watched many sessions over the course of the week, there was a clear desire to move past points of friction in this conference over Israel and other topics, and instead to disparage a common enemy.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: And much of that ended up directed at Mamdani and Muslims in general.
--:-- Scott Simon: That's Jack Jenkins of Religion News Service. Thank you for joining us.
--:-- Jack Jenkins: Thanks so much for having me.
--:-- [Theme music fades in]
--:-- Scott Simon: This story was produced through a collaboration between NPR and Religion News Service.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: And that's a first for Saturday, September 6, 2025.
--:-- Scott Simon: I'm Scott Simon.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: And I'm Aisha Roscoe.
--:-- Scott Simon: Andy Craig produced today's podcast along with Dave Mistich and Elena Twork.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Ed McNulty edited with Adil Elshalchi, Alina Hartunian, Eric Westerfeld, and Daniel Wood.
--:-- Scott Simon: Our director was Michael Radcliffe.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Our technical director was David Greenberg.
--:-- Scott Simon: And we had engineering support from Misha Hines, Zovang Genhoven, and Ted Mebane.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Our senior supervising editor is Shannon Rhodes.
--:-- Scott Simon: E.B. Stone is our executive producer.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: And Jim Cain is our deputy managing editor.
--:-- Scott Simon: And that's just a fraction of the people in our newsroom here at NPR who put together Weekend Edition every week just for you.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: There's a lot of the latest news and other interesting stories and voices on your radio.
--:-- Scott Simon: So go to stations.npr.org to find your local station.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: I mean, I can't hold myself back. You gotta do it!
--:-- Scott Simon: Plus, they back it all up with free shipping, easy returns, and a 100-night sleep trial. Visit Lisa.com for 25% off mattresses, plus get an extra $50 off with promo code NPR.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: That's L-E-E-S-A dot com, promo code NPR.
--:-- Scott Simon: This message comes from the Hartford.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Every day, they make business insurance easy. Or easier, anyway.
--:-- Scott Simon: And when it comes to business insurance for midsize and large businesses, they know just how complex it can be.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: And businesses rely on them to make the complex challenges less so.
--:-- Scott Simon: That's why at each step, from quotes to claims to everything in between, The Hartford is devoted to making it easier.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Connect with your underwriter at The Hartford or visit thehartford.com.
--:-- Scott Simon: This message comes from NPR sponsor Rosetta Stone, an expert in language learning for 30 years.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Right now, NPR listeners can get Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership to 25 different languages for 50% off.
--:-- Scott Simon: Learn more at rosettastone.com slash NPR.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: This is Weekend Edition from NPR News.
