Hmong widows fight for survivor benefits LEGISLATION: A measure awaiting Senate action would make them U.S. citizens, allowing them to continue collecting Social Security.
September 29, 2000
By JOSÉ ALFREDO FLORES
The Orange County Register
WASHINGTON -- Va Lor's husband fought side by side in Laos with American soldiers as they battled communism during the Vietnam War.
When Lor and her husband, Chachia Vang, managed to leave a refugee camp in Thailand and migrate to Santa Ana in 1990, Vang was granted citizenship in gratitude for his war efforts. But not his wife.
Now with her husband gone, Lor, 76, could lose the Social Security benefits she's been living on since his death. All because she's not a citizen. And she can't become a citizen because she is unable to read, write or speak English.
Lor is a Hmong, an indigenous group in Laos that traditionally lives in rural areas and has no access to formal education.
"I want to live a happy life like any other citizen here," Lor said through an interpreter.
And while she waited behind in Santa Ana with a dozen other Hmong widows in the same situation, a group of 50 Hmong and Laotian war widows from across the United States traveled to Capitol Hill this week. They came here to lobby senators to agree to a law that would give her the security and peace of mind of citizenship.
They want an amendment to the Hmong Veterans Naturalization Act. It would grant citizenship to the widows of Hmong veterans. The Orange County women were unable to afford the long trip.
"My Laotian sisters tell me that they are fighting for me," Lor said. "I am hoping and praying that Congress will take us into consideration. The Hmong people should be granted citizenship easier than other groups because our husbands helped the Americans get the job done (in Vietnam)."
The House passed the amendment on Sept. 20. The measure is now awaiting Senate approval.
"It's important to give the Hmong citizenship because they've earned it," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, who co-sponsored the measure. "We need to give them leeway because their husbands risked their lives and saved over 1,000 American lives. Maybe more. That deserves our gratitude."
Without citizenship, the widows may lose Social Security benefits that range from $500 to $700 per month.
Living under fixed incomes, the Hmong widows stay with their children or other family members.
Earlier this year, Lor received a letter from the Social Security office that threatened to cut off her benefits if she did not become a citizen.
"I'm very sad about this," she said. "I don't know what to do."
Vlia Lee, another Hmong refugee in Santa Ana, faces similar problems. She got her letter from Social Security nearly two years ago.
Many Hmong and other non-citizens have received these warnings since President Clinton signed the 1996 Welfare Reform Act. After receiving a warning letter from Social Security, they have two years to become citizens.
Lee is under the gun and is close to losing her benefits if Congress doesn't grant her citizenship soon.
But according to an aide to Rep. Bruce Vento, D-Minn., one of the key sponsors of the citizenship measure, they shouldn't worry.
The amendment to the bill "should happen this week or next week," Vento legislative aide Rick Jauert said. "It's a noncontroversial issue here."
Lee lives with two of her sons: Yer Yang, a student at Huntington Beach's Golden West College, and Kouza Yang, an industrial worker who passed the citizenship test.
"If I can become a citizen I would be able to live here forever," Lee said. "The United States is the best. It's like heaven for me."
