Wnited States Senate WASHINGTON, DC 20510 February 13,2020 The Honorable Mike Pompeo ‘The Honorable Chad F. Wolf Seeretary Acting Secretary USS. Department of State U.S. Department of Homeland Secur 220C St.NW 3801 Nebraska Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20520 Washington, DC 20016 Dear Secretary Pompeo and Acting Secretary Wolf: ration’s efforts to facilitate We write to express our concems following reports of the Admi the deportation of long-term U.S. residents to Laos. According to these reports, a State Department spokesperson recently confirmed that the Department has entered into contracts in Laos to help facilitate the deportation of long-term U.S. residents to the country, despite its history of human rights violations against its people, in particular the Hmong.! Minnesota is home to more than 80,000 Hmong residents, many of whom first arrived as refugees after helping the United States fight in Laos during the Vietnam War. For more than 40 years, they have worked in our hospitals, schools, and businesses, making important ‘contributions in publie service and the cultural and economie vitality of our state. Itis for this reason that we write to express the concems that we have heard from our constituents ~ on behalf of their family members, neighbors. classmates, and coworkers ~ that the Administration appears to be pursuing a policy that could tear families apart and result in the removal of residents who have only known our state as their home. We also write to ask that your staffs brief our offices on any actions that the Administration has taken with respect toa potential repatriation agreement with Laos. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. cerely, aS ll United States Senator United States § "upeutw pe orpmong-eades-say-reported-rump-deportatin-pans-weukeppeupesh