Senate Passes Compromise Hmong Citizenship Bill
By Frederic J. Frommer/AP

The Senate passed legislation May 18 that would make it easier for members of a Laotian ethnic group to become U.S. citizens, agreeing on compromise language on who would be found eligible for citizenship.

The bill waives the English-language requirement for Hmong and other Laotians who were recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency in Laos for covert military actions during the Vietnam war.

A similar version, sponsored by Rep. Bruce Vento, D-Minn., has already passed the House. Backers of the bill hope to get a quick second vote in the House on the new Senate language, and avoid having to work out the difference in a House-Senate conference.

Supporters of the bill said that the Hmong have found it difficult to learn English because their language did not have a written form until recently.

Sen. Rod Grams, R-Minn., had raised concerns about the legislation because as it passed the House it would allow the Lao Veterans of America to certify who would qualify for the waiver. Grams’ substitute bill, which passed the Senate, called for the CIA or the Defense Department to make that decision.

Under the bill, the Justice Department, in determining whether someone is eligible for citizenship, “may consider any documentation provided by organizations maintaining records with respect to Hmong Veterans or their families.”