During the Vietnam War, our government asked the Hmong to help our troops in fighting communism. And they did, fighting nobly as our allies. In return, we offered many Hmong asylum in our nation. Thousands are here in the Fox Cities.
But, in today's war on terror, some of the Hmong who provided great aid to us have become caught in our bureaucracy. The federal government acted last week to correct part of the problem, though another part remains incorrect.
As part of the Patriot Act and the later Real ID Act, the Hmong who were our allies in the fighting in Vietnam have been classified as "terrorists" since late 2005. The classification means that those who are already in our country are in limbo, unable to gain permanent residency. And it means that others who remain in southeast Asia are unable to gain asylum here.
Last week, the Homeland Security and State departments announced that the provision would no longer apply to Hmong who provided "material support" to organizations considered to be terrorist before Dec. 31, 2004.
The decision lets some of those affected off the hook. But there's more that needs to be done.
There are still other Hmong — those who fought directly in the war — who are still considered to terrorists and remain bound by the provision. Again, these are people who fought with our nation, or on our behalf, against communist forces and are now being considered terrorists — because they fought an oppressive regime. It makes no sense.
The Senate has passed an amendment to a broad foreign aid bill that would free the Hmong from the terrorist designation. Getting that amendment passed into law is the solution needed to correct this injustice.
Our nation's treatment of the Hmong hasn't always matched the commitment we've made to them — or the commitment they made to us in southeast Asia.
This situation needs to be fixed.
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