Connection: Hmong In Spokane

Many of the Hmong who fought for the United States before 1975 fled Laos with their families. An estimated 150,000 eventually came to America as refugees.

At one time, nearly 1,000 Hmong immigrants lived in the Spokane area. That number has dropped to about 400 as some families continued their migrations to California, Texas and the Midwest.

The Hmong community in Spokane remains strong. The intricate needlework of Hmong women is often on display in booths at local craft shows and markets, and Hmong dancers participate in cultural festivals.

The generation that fought for the CIA is approaching retirement without the veterans’ benefits of the American troops who fought with them in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. While their children have assimilated into American culture, many of the first-generation Hmong struggle with the language of their adopted country and have a hard time passing the test to become citizens.

Without citizenship, they are not eligible for many government aid programs.

U.S. Rep. Bruce Vento, D-Minn., has introduced legislation that would allow members of the Hmong community to become citizens without passing the standard English language and civics tests. A similar bill died in the last Congress, but this proposal has bipartisan support from more than 100 members of the House.