Laotian immigrants

Significant numbers of Laotian immigrants first came to the United States in the wake of the Vietnam War. They have often been lumped together with Vietnamese refugees, but the Laotians have differed in generally having less education, fewer skills, and more assimilation challenges. The Hmong, who fought against communism in Laos, are often included among Laotian immigrants, but these mountain people come from throughout Southeast Asia.

Laos is situated in the center of the Indochinese peninsula at the heart of the Mekong Basin, with Vietnam to the east. The location of the country ensured that it would become caught up in the turmoil of the Vietnam War during the 1960’s and early 1970’s, when its own people were also fighting a civil war. As the United States withdrew from Southeast Asia in 1975, Laotian refugees began to make their way to America. The U.S. government labeled all refugees as “Indochinese” regardless of their countries of origin. As a result, Laotians have been lumped together with the much larger number of Vietnamese refugees who poured into the United States. Consequently, some of the available government information does not represent the pattern of Laotian immigration.Laotian immigrantsHmong immigrantsVietnam War;postwar refugeesLaotian immigrantsHmong immigrantsVietnam War;postwar refugees[cat]SOUTHEAST ASIAN IMMIGRANTS;Laotianimmigrants[03150][cat]IMMIGRANT GROUPS;Laotian immigrants[03150]

Laotian refugee children at a refugee camp in Thailand in 1979.

(AP/Wide World Photos)

The Laotian refugees came in two major waves, which included ethnic Chinese, Lao minorities (chiefly Lao Theung and Mein), and the Hmong among their numbers. The first wave, from 1975 to 1977, consisted largely of Boat people;Laotiansboat people and overland refugees who had spent considerable and often harrowing time in refugee camps in Southeast Asia. Many of these people were Hmong immigrantsHmong who had fled Laos for refugee camps in Thailand;refugee campsThailand after the Communism;Laoscommunist government of the Pathet Lao took control in December, 1975.

The second wave, consisting largely of Lao minorities who began to arrive in the United States in 1978, resulted from attempts by the new Lao government to consolidate its control over ethnic minorities who had fought earlier for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. In 1978, the U.S. government offered “parolee” status to Hmong and other Laotians who had been employees of the U.S. government, with priority given to people who had been persecuted by communists. The 1980 [a]Refugee Act of 1980;and Laotians[Laotians]Refugee Act gave the refugees resident-alien status and enabled more Laotians to enter the United States.

The Laotian immigrants who arrived as the result of the Vietnam War tended to be less educated than previous Southeast Asian immigrants. The 20,000 or so Hmong who arrived during the late 1970’s were, for the most part, illiterate. The Hmong and Laotian ethnic minorities tended not only to be illiterate, but also to have skills in few fields other than slash-and-burn agriculture. The fact that the Hmong and Mein peoples had no written language further complicated their ability to adjust to life in the United States. The refugees tended to be young, with most coming as part of large family groups.

By the end of the 1980’s, about 266,000 Laotians had immigrated to the United States. Most settled in California;Laotian immigrantsCalifornia but a significant number have established lives in the upper Midwest, chiefly in Minnesota;Laotian immigrantsMinnesota.Laotian immigrantsHmong immigrantsVietnam War;postwar refugees

Laotian immigrants Summary