Here & Now

New Policy Threatens to Deport Members of Hmong Community

Frederica Freyberg:

A policy shift in Washington leaves thousands of Hmong and Lao U.S. residents who are not citizens and have deportation orders worried they could be sent back to Laos. In tonight’s inside look, Wisconsin is home to nearly 50,000 Hmong people who first came here as refugees after fighting for the U.S. in the Vietnam War. Now the State Department wants Laos to accept deported U.S. residents. Something that hasn’t happened because of a long record of human rights violations against Hmong people by the communist country. Long Vue is executive director of the Wisconsin United Coalition of Mutual Assistance Association. He joins us from Menasha. Thanks very much for being here.

Long Vue:

Thank you.

Frederica Freyberg:

What is the reaction among Hmong people here in Wisconsin to this development that you have heard?

Long Vue:

Well, it’s a mixed message. Some are very confused why it’s happening now. Some say, well, it started a long time ago. But I guess the biggest issue, even though the immigration law passed during the Clinton Administration in 1996, well, there’s no formal agreement with Laotians to send Hmong or whoever is conviction of a crime back to Laos. And now, it’s almost 24 years now and this issue resurface again.

Frederica Freyberg:

How many people could it affect in Wisconsin, to your understanding?

Long Vue:

To my understanding, we had about 300 individuals in the state of Wisconsin. In this district, we combine here with Chicago as well, too, so pretty close to 300 individuals.

Frederica Freyberg:

Now, I understand again that this would affect people who are not U.S. citizens, but legal residents now under deportation orders. How do people get deportation orders against them?

Long Vue:

Well, they’re on the list. They’re waiting because they know they’re on the list. But the key is that they have served their time already. A lot of these individuals are moving on with their lives. They served their time already and move on their life. They have their job. They have their families in this country now.

Frederica Freyberg:

So again, the deportation order would come, for example, because someone was convicted of a crime.

Long Vue:

That’s correct.

Frederica Freyberg:

What would happen to a Hmong person deported back to Laos?

Long Vue:

Well, the Hmong, 24 years now, the Hmong being in this country 45 years now, the Hmong in general flee Laos because face prosecution because of being allies with U.S. or help or be friends with the United States. Going back there is not an option. Laos does not legally recognize Hmong as citizens of Laotian. That’s why you call Hmong. People get confused. Laos or Laotian or Hmong. Hmong is an ethnic group in Laos. So formally, Hmong is not a citizen of Laos. They will not take a non-Laotian back, as well as this individual escape Laos. Why would they want those individual back? They are the one that want to get rid of the individuals in the first place.

Frederica Freyberg:

Would it be dangerous in your mind for a Hmong person to return to Laos?

Long Vue:

It would be dangerous, those individuals on the list. They commit this crime when they were young. They have never been back to Laos. They cannot speak the Laotian language. They have no families over there. So it would be very hard for them to go back into a society that they are not welcome, because their parents were not welcome in the first place. So for them to go back is just unimaginable.

Frederica Freyberg:

What have you heard from Wisconsin’s Congressional delegation about this?

Long Vue:

What we have are Wisconsin Congressional from both the Senators and Congressional asked the governor to have written letter to the State Department asking for explanation. And one, the State Department to stop negotiating with this process. So that’s what we had so far. Just this week, we had a tremendous support from the state legislature as far as the elected officials.

Frederica Freyberg:

What is your family’s story of fleeing Laos? Unfortunately, we have but a minute left.

Long Vue:

Well, I’m — we’re lucky we were able to escape Laos early in 1975. But from my knowledge, through this fleeing the country, Hmong, thousand and thousand had died along this trail and crossing the Mekong River is not an easy task. And thousands had died. So the ones that make it to this country are the lucky ones. And now, those little one, in the ’80s, ’90s, they commit some crime, but when they were younger and serving their time, are being deported to a country they don’t even call home. So it’s a policy that definitely — why would we waste our resource sending fi — forty individuals back to a country that is not welcome for them? We could use that resource for other reasons.

Frederica Freyberg:

We need to leave it there, but of course we will be watching this. Long Vue, thank you very much.

Long Vue:

Thank you, too.

Frederica Freyberg:

Late this week, Governor Tony Evers released a letter he wrote to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying, in part, “The potential deportation of Hmong Wisconsinites is yet another example of your administration’s problematic disposition and policies toward refugee and immigrant populations. I urge you to reconsider and reiterate my opposition to any agreement that results in the deportation of Hmong people living in Wisconsin.”