Hmong Repatriation
Minnesota is home to a very large Hmong-American population, which adds valuable diversity to the culture of the state. Many of Minnesota's Hmong-American population came to the United States as refugees due to persecution in their former country. Senator Franken is committed to protecting Hmong populations abroad from continued persecution.
In December 2009, thousands of Hmong in Thailand were forcibly repatriated to Laos, a regime who has long persecuted them, which understandably caused grave concern for Hmong-Minnesotans, many of whom have relatives among the returnees.
Since January, Senator Franken has held two large forums with members of Minnesota's Hmong-American community. The first was in immediate response to the crisis - to hear their concerns and share the most current information. In June, he brought Ravic Huso, the U.S. Ambassador to Laos, to a second forum in St. Paul, where he discussed the conditions in the "development village" where most returnees had been resettled.
In July, he and his wife Franni traveled to Laos to investigate conditions in the village and to impress upon the Lao government the importance of the returnees' safety to future U.S.-Lao relations.
He is now working with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to make sure that the Hmong in Thailand and Laos are being treated fairly and protected.
