Antiterror Laws Keep Out Vietnam War Allies

Hmong refugees rendered ineligible for asylum in US 

Left, Xee Vang of Menasha, Wis., with her husband and son, says her husband's brother and his family are in a detention center.  

WASHINGTON — Another irony of history: Sept. 11-era laws aimed at keeping terrorists out of the United States have disqualified many Hmong refugees, the very people specially recognized by Congress for helping American troops in the Vietnam war. 

Under provisions of the USA Patriot Act and the Real ID Act, the Hmong who fought alongside the Americans in the "secret war" against communists in Laos are considered terrorists and are therefore ineligible for asylum or green cards. These are laws from the same Congress that in 2000 passed a law easing the citizenship requirements for the Hmong in recognition of their Vietnam-era efforts.

"Clearly, it's absurd that people who fought with us — people who have received special exemptions from the law precisely for that conduct — should be barred from coming to the US as refugees as a result of that conduct," said Melanie Nezer, an attorney for the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, who is coordinating a working group aimed at changing the laws…

The Hmong began arriving in large numbers during the 1970s, in the aftermath of Vietnam, and there were about 170,000 in the United States as of the 2000 US Census, with most settled in California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. A later wave of about 15,000 settled in this country in 2005.

The antiterrorism restrictions, which have ensnared other groups as well, also bar people who provided "material support" to terrorist organizations. Last month the Bush administration announced that it was granting waivers of that restriction to eight groups, but the Hmong were not among them.

In Thailand, a group of 153 Hmong refugees have been in limbo as they await resettlement from an immigration detention center in the northern town of Nong Khai. A few weeks ago, the Thai government aborted plans to send the Hmong back to neighboring Laos, after the men in the group resisted and United Nations and US officials expressed concern about the planned deportation. The Hmong say they will be persecuted in Laos because of their Vietnam-era ties to the United States. The Netherlands recently agreed to take 22 of the Hmong.

Xee Vang of Menasha, Wis., said her brother-in-law, his wife, and their eight children are among those at the detention center. Vang said that her brother-in-law, whom she declined to identify by name, had fought alongside the United States during the Vietnam War, then fled to the jungle.

"It's very emotionally draining and frightening to hear about him and his family," said Vang, who spoke on behalf of herself and her husband, Chou Vang. "My husband is taking it very hard."

She said they have given up hope that their relatives will be able to come to the United States.

"I think it's unfair and stopping a lot of people who are legitimate refugees, who have sided with the US," Vang said of the restrictions.

Paul Rosenzweig, the Department of Homeland Security's acting assistant secretary for international affairs, said most Hmong families have members who actually took up arms and so would not be eligible for the material support waiver. He said the administration is working on legislation to ease the restriction on the Hmong and other groups, which it will propose to Congress.

"In general, the reason we like the Hmong is because Papa fought with us," Rosenzweig said in a telephone interview. "Almost by definition, if you're one of the Hmong who was subject to our positive thought in the first instance, you run afoul of the unintended consequence of the law change."

Representative Jim Sensenbrenner, the Wisconsin Republican who was a main driving force behind both the Patriot Act and the Real ID Act as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, declined an interview request. Through a spokesman, Rajesh Bharwani, he said: "The laws are fine. If the Department of Justice and other agencies are overstepping their bounds, then the courts will stop them."

Philip Smith, the Washington director of Lao Veterans of America, a Hmong advocacy group, said the restrictions are preventing Hmong refugees from coming to the United States and making it difficult for those who are already here to obtain green cards, which establish permanent residency.

"Thousands of Hmong veterans and family members are threatened with potential deportation down the road," he said. "And there is a clear and present danger they cannot be naturalized in a timely manner."

Larry Yungk, senior resettlement officer for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said that traditionally, 95 percent of the Hmong have come to the United States. Because of the restrictions, Australia and New Zealand have become two of the chief countries accepting them now, he said.

Momentum is building in Congress to change the restrictions.

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