Provision of Patriot Act treats Hmong as terrorists
Many barred from immigrating, work
By ERICA PEREZ
eperez@journalsentinel.com
Posted: March 30, 2007
Gina Vang sees her relatives as war heroes.
Her father, cousin and others were among thousands of Hmong trained by the CIA to fight Communist forces in Laos during the Vietnam War. When the Communist Pathet Lao took control, Vang and her family fled their war-torn city and resettled as refugees in Milwaukee.
Seven years ago, Congress recognized the contributions of people such as Vang's family with the Hmong Veterans' Naturalization Act.
But now, a provision in the USA Patriot Act defines Hmong refugees as terrorists. As a result, thousands in the United States can't get green cards. And thousands of would-be refugees abroad are barred from resettling here. Vang's stepsister Mai Lor is one of them.
Lor is hiding in a temporary settlement in Thailand.
"She's just stuck in the middle, not knowing where to go," said Vang, 35, who works for the Hmong American Women's Association in Milwaukee. "It's been really hard for her."
The provision is not new. But attorneys with the Department of Homeland Security only began applying it to Hmong refugees in late 2005, said Larry Yungk, senior resettlement officer for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Several other groups were also affected, including Burmese, Montagnards and Colombians who have been forced to give support to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC and considered one of the worst terrorist groups in the world.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has recently issued waivers for some groups. But as of yet, no Hmong have gotten waivers, said Melanie Nezer, attorney for Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, which works with refugees.
Lawmakers appear to agree that Hmong refugees should not be barred from the United States, but have struggled to see eye to eye on how to fix the law without weakening restrictions on actual terrorists.
An amendment authored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) was attached to the Senate's Iraq spending bill this week, but it was removed Thursday by Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), who said he agreed with the principle but thought the language was too broad.
Lawmakers will likely continue to introduce new legislation or attach amendments to larger bills to address this issue. Kyl said he had two amendments already drafted. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), a co-sponsor of this week's amendment, also vowed to get the law changed.
"Rest assured, I will continue to work with my Senate colleagues until this problem is finally fixed," he said.
Definition of 'terrorist'
The Patriot Act broadened the definition of a terrorist organization to include a group of two or more individuals, organized or not, which uses any dangerous device with the intent to endanger someone's safety or damage property.
That means any resistance group that engaged in armed conflict with its government could be considered a terrorist organization, even if it is pro-democracy, said Naomi Steinberg, deputy director of the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center in Washington, D.C.
Plus, anyone who gives "material support" - including a safe house, money or transportation - to a terrorist organization has engaged in terrorist activity.
So Hmong refugees are considered terrorists, as are other groups that fought oppressive regimes.
"The Hmong have effectively been labeled terrorists as the result of the support they gave the U.S. during the Vietnam War," Feingold said. "This is both unconscionable and the saddest of ironies."
The 2000 census showed some 186,000 Hmong living in the United States, including roughly 34,000 in Wisconsin.
"A lot of us, we were forced into that war," said Lo Neng Kiatoukaysy, executive director of the Hmong American Friendship Association Inc. in Milwaukee.
"People who've lived in camps for 10 or 20 years now, it's not their fault that they're there," he said.
Thousands affected
Even though the Patriot Act went into effect in 2001, Hmong refugees continued to enter the States and get green cards until 2005. Then the tide changed.
Data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shows that as of February, some 1,491 refugees living legally in the United States had their green card applications on hold because of the material support provision of the Patriot Act.
That number was not broken down into ethnic groups, but Steinberg and Nezer said the majority are likely Hmong.
It's hard to tell how many Hmong outside the United States are being prevented from coming here by the Patriot Act, Steinberg said.
Stepsister in limbo
But Vang's stepsister is among some 8,000 Lao Hmong known to be living in the temporary White Water settlement in Petchabun, Thailand. These people have not been interviewed by the United Nations to determine if they're truly refugees, but many probably are, Steinberg said.
"These people should be interviewed and determined to be refugees or not," she said. "For those who are, they should be allowed to join family members."
In Milwaukee, Lao Family Community Inc. Executive Director Mark Xiong said he's seen several cases where recently resettled refugees have had their green card applications held or denied. If waivers are not granted, Xiong fears some of these refugees could be deported.
"We never did anything bad to the government of the U.S.," Xiong said. "We've only helped them."
