Laos and the Hmong: The Exodus After 1975

When Laos fell in 1975, a long exodus began across the Mekong River.

The secret war

For more than a decade before 1975, Laos was a battleground in the wider Indochina war. The United States supported the Royal Lao Government and recruited Hmong and other highland fighters, led by General Vang Pao, to fight the Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese forces. The fighting was largely hidden from the American public, which is why it is often called the Secret War.

1975: the fall

In 1975 the Pathet Lao took power. On December 2, 1975, the monarchy was abolished and the Lao People's Democratic Republic was proclaimed. Former officials, soldiers, and anyone tied to the old government or to the United States were in danger. Many were sent to "re-education" camps.

Across the Mekong

Over the following years, hundreds of thousands of people left Laos. Most crossed the Mekong River into Thailand, often at night, often under fire. They included ethnic Lao, Hmong, Mien, Khmu, and others. In Thailand they waited, sometimes for years, in camps such as Ban Vinai, Nong Khai, Ubon, and Napho.

Resettlement in America

The United States resettled a large share of them. Lao and Hmong families built communities in California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Texas, Georgia, and many other states. The Refugee Act of 1980 put that work on a permanent legal footing.

Lao and Hmong Americans in diplomacy

The children of that exodus now serve the country that took them in. Songkane Sackaly came from Laos as a refugee, served in the U.S. Army in Iraq, and became a Foreign Service Officer. The Second Generation page profiles Boa Lee, described by the Department of State as the first Hmong American Foreign Service officer, and Stacey Phengvath, whose family resettled from Laos.