Members of Wisconsin’s Hmong community are speaking out after reports that the Trump administration is seeking authority to deport thousands of Hmong residents to Laos.
Hmong leaders say Trump deportation plan endangers refugees
A State Department spokesperson on Monday confirmed to Wisconsin Public Radio that the administration is calling on Laos to accept deported U.S. residents, and said “the U.S. government is funding a reintegration program in Laos for those who need extra assistance.”
In late January, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Lao foreign minister Saleumxay Kommasith. In a recently surfaced letter dated Feb. 3, U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum said the administration “is negotiating with (Laos) to allow for the deportation of longtime Hmong and Lao residents of the United States back to the country of their birth.”
ROB MENTZER
