Senate action is good news for the Hmong community

Amending a law that mislabeled Hmong as terrorists was a "solution to this injustice.'' The bill now moves to the House.

By Jean Hopfensperger, Star Tribune

Last update: September 13, 2007 - 9:42 PM

Ilean Her's uncle fought on behalf of the U.S. government in Laos during the Vietnam War, but he is considered a terrorist under federal legislation that Her hopes is on the verge of being changed.

On Thursday night, the U.S. Senate approved an amendment that would modify a provision in the Real ID Act that broadened the definition of a terrorist to inadvertently include the Hmong.

The anti-terrorism provision meant that Hmong who fought in Southeast Asia were having a hard time getting U.S. citizenship applications and green cards, community leaders said. And it made it next to impossible to bring family members who had fought in the war to the United States, Her said.

"It's been a big issue in the Hmong community and within our family," said Her, executive director of the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans. "My uncle [in Thailand] is our last remaining great-uncle, and he's probably in his 70s. We want to bring him here."

The Senate action, she said, is good news for the entire community.

The terrorism language was modified in an amendment written by Minnesota Republican Sen. Norm Coleman in the 2008 Senate Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, which was approved Thursday night.

The bill now moves to a conference committee in the U.S. House.

"They [the Hmong] have looked to the U.S. as a place of hope and a sanctuary from persecution," Coleman said, "and with the passage of this amendment, we can finally move ahead on a solution to this injustice."

A similar stand-alone bill was introduced in the House in June and was sent to a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, said Bryan Collinsworth, press secretary for Minnesota Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum, who was a co-sponsor of the bill.

Minnesota's Hmong community is hoping this is the beginning of the end of their struggle to reclaim their rightful status in history and to continue reuniting their families.

Michael Yang, the Twin Cities-based chairman of the National Association for Hmong Justice, said overturning the terrorist provision has been one of the key public policy issues for the Hmong community nationally.

"It put a lot of roadblocks on people's applications for citizenship and for permanent residency, including the recent arrivals from Thailand," he said. "Most importantly, it created a public perception that we are terrorists."

Other refugee groups were affected, too, Yang said, such as the ethnic Montagnards of Vietnam, who also were U.S. allies in Southeast Asia.

The Senate amendment was part of a larger bill funding foreign aid and U.S. diplomacy.

Coleman acknowledged that the bill faces a veto threat by President Bush, for issues unrelated to the Hmong changes.

"At the end of the day, I am confident that we will obtain a legislative solution to this problem that will be signed into law," Coleman said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Jean Hopfensperger • 612-673-4511

Jean Hopfensperger • hopfen@startribune.com

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