House OKs Easing Rules on Citizenship for Hmong Allies

Seeking to heal a wound from the Vietnam War era, the House approved a measure Tuesday easing U.S. citizenship requirements for Hmong immigrants who fought in the CIA’s secret war in Laos.

The measure, sent to the Senate on a voice vote, would waive the English language requirement for Hmong veterans, their spouses and widows. Many of these Hmong refugees relocated to California when they were forced to flee their homeland.

A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.), who has pushed a similar measure, said he expects it to be approved in the Senate as early as today. That measure also has bipartisan support.

Under the legislation, as many as 45,000 Hmong immigrants could take the civics test with the aid of an interpreter.

The blanket exemption from the English language requirement is unprecedented. Only legal immigrants 50 years or older who have lived in the country for a long time have been allowed to take the exam with a translator.

“Their service to the country was unprecedented,” Philip Smith, Washington director of the Lao Veterans of America, said of the Hmongs covered by the bill.

Rep. Bruce F. Vento (D-Minn.), the bill’s chief sponsor, said: “The Hmong passed a more important test than a language test. They risked their lives for American values and to save U.S. service personnel.”

Vento added: “It has been 25 years since the fall of Saigon. . . . While the Vietnam War is over for America, the plight of our friends and allies within this region must be remembered.”

It has taken Congress so long to help the Hmongs because the United States did not acknowledge the secret war in Laos until years later, according to the bill’s supporters. Some lawmakers also said that previous legislative efforts to grant the Hmong the language exemption fell victim to anti-immigrant feelings that have since eased.

Vento persevered, building support from veterans groups. In 1995, he had just eight co-sponsors for the legislation. In 1996 and 1997, the number grew to 77. On Tuesday, the bill had 108 co-sponsors, including many among California’s 52-member delegation.

“We’re very happy,” said Col. Wangyee Vang, president of the Fresno-based Lao Veterans of America.

Many Hmong have found it difficult to learn English because they come from a tribal society that lacked a written language until recently, according to the bill’s supporters.

Final approval of the legislation would end a decade-long struggle by the Hmong (pronounced “mong”) to win recognition for their sacrifices in the jungles and highlands of Laos.

The Hmong rescued downed U.S. pilots and gathered intelligence in a covert operation in Laos directed by the CIA in the 1960s and ‘70s.

Laos was pivotal to Pentagon strategists seeking to keep communist regimes from taking root in Southeast Asia during the 1960s. But under a 1962 treaty, Laos also was off-limits to U.S. personnel.

Given the covert nature of the military operations in Laos, no precise figure for Hmong casualties is available. Vento estimated from 10,000 to 20,000 died fighting. The Lao veterans group puts the figure at more than 35,000.

More than 200,000 Hmong live in the United States, with large numbers in California’s Central Valley. Minnesota and Wisconsin have significant populations of Hmong.

Rep. Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said that the bill will deal only with a limited number of Hmong refugees admitted to the country legally. Eligible Hmong soldiers would have served with a special guerrilla unit or irregular forces operating from Laos in support of the U.S. military from Feb. 28, 1961, to Sept. 18, 1978.

“In view of their commitment to our democracy and the great hardships they endured when they made common cause with us, we act appropriately by extending a hand to them now and helping them become citizens of their adopted land,” Hyde told his House colleagues.

Rep. George P. Radanovich (R-Mariposa), whose district includes a Hmong community, said that the Hmong who fought alongside U.S. soldiers in the Vietnam War “already know more about American values than most of their fellow immigrants ever will and have thus earned the right to be American citizens--particularly after all this time.”

Although the bill does not give the Hmong any veterans’ benefits, citizenship would provide a more secure safety net for some, who temporarily lost food stamps under the 1996 welfare reform bill. Congress restored the food stamps to some Hmong refugees in 1998 and citizenship would provide a guarantee of other government benefits.

But Smith said: “The most important issue to them is the honor of having U.S. citizenship.”

In previous years, critics of the legislation expressed concern that Hmong refugees who did not serve in guerrilla units could claim to have done so because of the covert nature of the CIA-led operation.

But the bill’s sponsors, working with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, tightened the requirements for documentation. Under the measure, the INS can seek to confirm an applicant’s eligibility with the Department of Defense or consider documentation provided by the Lao Veterans of America.