Primary Sources for Teaching Act 266

Background

Wisconsin received little Asian immigration in the nineteenth century, particularly after the United States eliminated direct immigration from China (1882), India (1917), Japan (1924), and the Philippines (1934). During World War II, some Japanese, many of whom were American citizens, were interned at Camp McCoy. The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act removed restrictions based on national origins in favor of a preference system that gave priority to family reunification and political refugees. Most Asian immigration to Wisconsin has occurred in recent decades, particularly among Hmong refugees from Laos.

Recruited during the Vietnam War as guerilla soldiers to fight the North Vietnamese, Hmong peoples were living literally in the crossfire during the conflict. When the United States withdrew from Vietnam in 1975, the Hmong who had aided the U.S. were left in the hands of the communists they had fought against. Thousands fled to refugee camps in Thailand where resettlement organizations, such as the U.S. Catholic Conference and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, helped sponsor Hmong immigration to the United States beginning in 1975.

Wisconsin has the third largest Hmong population in the country, after Minnesota and California. The largest communities in Wisconsin are in La Crosse, Sheboygan, Green Bay, Wausau, and Milwaukee.