The Hmong community celebrated President Bush's Dec. 26 signing of HR 2764, a bill that reversed long-criticized language in the U.S. Patriot Act that had prevented Hmong from becoming citizens.

President Bush signed the legislation, which included automatic relief for the Hmong and other groups that do not pose a threat to the United States, days after a massive December 15 rally of more than 1,800 Hmong members in Stockton.  Hmong leaders urged elected officials in the Central Valley to exclude them from the Patriot Act as terrorists. The Hmong Leadership Network, an affiliate of People and Congregations Together (PACT) of Stockton, organized the rally.

In the 1960s, the CIA recruited Hmong to engage in covert operations in Laos, where they were trained and supported by the United States. The Patriot Act does not specifically list Hmong as terrorists, but refugees may be denied entry to the United States if they are found to have provided material support to terrorists, defined under the act as having engaged in unlawful activity against their country. As a result, Hmong across the United States, specifically in the Central Valley, have been denied driver licenses and permanent resident status. For some, the naturalization process has been prolonged due to intensive FBI investigation.

"We are not terrorists, we are American allies whom they have forgotten," said Pao Vang, chair of the Hmong Leadership Network, a grassroots local organizing committee made of Hmong clan leaders and those concerned about the Hmong community in San Joaquin County.

For more information, visit PACT's website at www.pact4sjc.org

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