Research Note: The Hmong in America: Twenty-Five Years after the U.S. Secret War in Laos

Introduction

The year 2000 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of recent Hmong history in America, and it is also twenty-five years after the end of the U.S. secret war in Laos, which resulted in the coming to America of many Hmong from Laos. To get a better Hmong perspective on their American experience, I gathered information from key members of the Hmong American community, the available literature, the Fifth Hmong National Conference in 1999, and my own observation and research from my many roles and activities, including my summer 1999 tour of the Hmong in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, and California. I am a former social worker and a current member of the faculty of Ethnic Studies at California State University, Stanislaus.

The term "Hmong Americans" in this research note refers to all descendants of Hmong ancestry who are now residents or citizens of the United States. The term "Hmong" ¹ refers to an Asian ethnic group who call themselves "Hmong," but who are labeled by outsiders as "Miao" in China and "Meo" in Thailand.

The end of the U. S. secret war in Laos in 1975 gradually pushed more than ten percent of the population of Laos to become refugees abroad. ² More than one-third of these refugees are Hmong. The Hmong left Laos in May 1975 and, by the end of that year, a small number of Hmong refugees had already been permanently resettled in America. About 750 Hmong came to the United States in early 1976, ³ and the numbers started to grow slowly but steadily. The peak year of Hmong refugee resettlement in the United States was in 1980, when approximately 27,000 Hmong were admitted. ⁴ The Hmong American population grew rapidly in the early 1980s, and by 1989, it was estimated that Hmong Americans numbered approximately 100,000. ⁵ The United States continues to admit Hmong refugees, and there are still more than 10,000 Hmong refugees living legally or illegally in Thailand. It is estimated that by the end of 1999, Hmong Americans numbered approximately 200,000, including their American-born offspring. ⁶ This rapid population growth increase can be explained by the Hmong's high fertility and low mortality rates, and by the continuous flow of Hmong refugees still coming to this country. According to the 1990 Census, Hmong Americans represented approximately 1.3 percent of the total Asian American population. ⁷ Among all Asian groups in America, the Hmong represent the youngest population per capita, with an average age of about 13, and also those with the largest family size of 6.6 persons. ⁸ The larger family size might be explained by the Hmong's preference to have a large family, and because of their custom of often having more than two generations living under one roof. The size of a Hmong household in Laos is varied, and a large household can be from ten to more than twenty persons. ⁹

In the early days of resettlement, the Hmong, like other refugees from Indochina, were dispersed throughout America. In the early 1980s, many Hmong began to migrate to California, in what is known as a secondary migration. By the end of 1986, approximately 46,000 (more than half of the Hmong in the United States) were living in California. ¹⁰ It was during this time that Fresno, California became the capital of the Hmong with the largest concentration of Hmong in America. The Hmong community in Fresno grew from 1 family in 1977, to 5 families in 1979, to 2,000 in 1980, and to about 35, 000 in 1993. ¹¹ The mid-1990s marked the beginning of a trend of Hmong moving out of California, especially from Fresno. ¹² To escape high unemployment and poor economic conditions, many Hmong moved out of Fresno...