Hmong Americans are
Americans of
Hmong descent from Southeast Asia, most notably from Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. Hmong Americans are one group of
Asian Americans. Many Lao Hmong war refugees resettled in the
US following the
North Vietnamese invasion of Laos and
Laotian Civil War during the
Vietnam War. Following the
Vietnam People's Army invasion and take over of the Royal
Kingdom of Laos, beginning in December 1975, the first Lao Hmong refugees arrived in the US, mainly from refugee camps along the
Mekong river in
Thailand. Thousands of Lao Hmong fled
persecution,
human rights violations, military attacks,
ethnic cleansing, and
religious freedom violations, at the hands of
Marxist and
communist forces, including those of the
Lao People's Army. However, despite the tens of thousands of Hmong people persecuted and killed, only approximately 3,466 were reportedly granted asylum as official
refugees at this time under the Refugee Assistance Act of 1975.