Hmong and Lao Refugee Deportation Prohibition Act of 2020

Since 1975, nearly 200,000 refugees from the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao P.D.R), including persons of Hmong, Lao, Khmu, and Mien or Yao descent, have resettled in the U.S. as permanent residents or become citizens.

Beginning in the 1950s in Laos, Hmong soldiers fought the Communist Pathet Lao movement, and many Hmong and Lao later assisted U.S. forces during the Vietnam War.

The House Judiciary Committee reported in 2000, “At great personal peril and loss of life, the Hmong fought with American forces and performed critical roles in dangerous missions.”.

A former CIA officer stated to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims that, “[t]hroughout the war, CIA’s paramilitary forces collected intelligence, used it in combat operations to tie down some 50,000 North Vietnamese forces in Laos, rescued downed American pilots and protected sensitive American installations at remote mountain tops …”.

Public Law 106–207, the Hmong Veterans Naturalization Act of 2000, provided thousands of Hmong refugees resettled to the U.S. who served with a special guerrilla unit, or irregular forces, operating from a base in Laos in support of the United States military at any time during the period beginning February 28, 1961, and ending September 18, 1978, with exemptions from certain provisions of the Immigration and Naturalization Act.

In 2000, it was reported by the House Judiciary Committee in Report 106–563 that “many Hmong refugees have found it difficult to naturalize because of a difficulty learning English. This is due to the facts that they came from a tribal society without a written language until recent decades and that many Hmong were recruited to be guerrillas at the age of 12–14 and hence did not attend school.”.

Scholars argue that the U.S. insufficiently resettled refugees from Laos leaving many ill-prepared for immediate work, unacculturated, and suffering psychosocial trauma resulting in cycles of poverty. In 2016, 37.8 percent of Hmong and 18.5 percent of Lao in the U.S. were living in poverty.

There are currently over 4,700 long-time U.S. residents of Hmong, Lao, Khmu, and Mien or Yao descent with Final Orders for Removal who were born in the Lao P.D.R., fled persecution in Laos, were resettled in the U.S. as refugees, and now face deportation to Laos due to past criminal convictions.

Individuals with Final Orders for Removal who could be deported to the Lao P.D.R. often do not speak the Lao language, lack familial connections, and are at risk of being a target for human rights abuses as a result of historic support for U.S. anti-communist policies.

A 2018 Department of State Laos Human Rights Report acknowledges the long record of human rights abuses in the Lao P.D.R. The report states, “The government neither prosecuted nor punished officials who committed abuses, and police and security forces committed human rights abuses with impunity.”.

The Lao P.D.R. is a communist state that does not currently have an official deportation agreement with the U.S. and there is no extradition treaty between Laos and the U.S.

Many of the over 4,700 persons with Final Orders of Removal who are at risk of deportation to the Lao P.D.R. have not been able to seek adequate immigration relief based on the complexity of the required legal filings and the backlogs in immigration courts. It can take several years for an individual to seek to reopen their immigration case and have their eligibility for immigration relief decided on the merits.

individuals of Hmong, Lao, Khmu, and Mien or Yao descent who arrived in the U.S. as refugees fleeing persecution in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic shall not be deported to Laos for a period of 72 months; and

the Trump administration’s efforts to deport more than 4,700 individuals of Hmong, Lao, Khmu, and Mien or Yao descent residing in the U.S. to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic puts these individuals at grave risk, is unnecessary to ensure public safety, and cruelly inflicts trauma and harm on Hmong-American and Lao-American families and communities that are making significant contributions to the strength and success of the U.S.

Deferral of removal— An alien may not be removed for the 72-month period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act if the alien—

Employment authorization— Upon application to the Secretary of Homeland Security, an alien whose removal is deferred pursuant to this Act—

Implementation— The Secretary of Homeland Security shall take the necessary steps to implement—

In general— Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide notice of the provisions of this Act to each alien who—

Contents of notice— The notice required under subsection (a) shall include clear instructions explaining the requirements for an alien to file a motion to reopen a proceeding under section 240 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a) based on changed country conditions.

Review— Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an individual or entity who has been harmed by a violation of this Act may file an action in an appropriate district court of the United States to seek declaratory or injunctive relief.

Rule of construction— Nothing in this Act may be construed to preclude an action filed pursuant to subsection (a) from proceeding as a class action (as such term is defined in section 1711 of title 28, United States Code).