Expatriation of Hmong Refugees from Thailand

The U.S. has long recognized an obligation to Hmong refugees who have fled Laos because of our country’s exploitation of the Hmong during the Vietnam war. The CIA recruited Hmong refugees to fight a secret war, paying them little while exploiting them and ruining their social structures. See Bill Ong Hing, Refugee Policy and Cultural Identity: In the Voice of Hmong and Iu Mien Young Adults, 1 HASTINGS RACE & POV. L.J. 111 (2003).

The Associated Press reports on many Hmong who are still in Thailand:

Lawmakers from California and elsewhere want the Thai government to halt what they call the forced repatriation of Hmong refugees to Laos.

More than a dozen House members sent a letter to the State Department on Friday urging action in the wake of the repatriation in June of more than 800 ethnic Hmong back to communist Laos.

The U.N. refugee agency says at least some of the refugees appear to have been sent back against their will, in violation of basic human rights. Click here for the rest of the story.

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