Minnesota Hmong American lawmaker responds to backlash over her immigration story

Minnesota State Representative Kaohly Vang Her, one of the nation’s few Hmong American lawmakers, clarified on Monday that she and her family are U.S. citizens after earlier remarks sparked backlash over her description of their immigration story.

During a June 9 debate in the Minnesota House over a proposal to end public health benefits for undocumented immigrants, Her shared a deeply personal account of her family’s journey to the U.S. In a tearful statement, she said her parents manipulated refugee paperwork to escape from Laos after the Vietnam War.

“What my father did was one of our uncles worked for USAID, and because his mother had died, my father, as the one processing the paperwork, put my grandmother down as his mother. So I am illegal in this country. My parents are illegal in this country, and when we were fleeing that situation, never one time did my family say, ‘Let’s look at which state has the greatest welfare and the best benefits because that’s the state we’re going to go to,’” Rep. Her said. “Nobody leaves their country unless they have to leave that country.”

She said her intention was to humanize undocumented immigrants and highlight the complicated realities faced by refugee families. Her grandfather supported the U.S. during the CIA-backed Secret War in Laos. After the U.S. withdrawal, the family fled persecution and resettled in Minnesota when she was a child.

“When lawmakers call people ‘illegal,’ I am that person; my parents are those people,” she added.

Her comments prompted criticism from conservative outlets and Republican lawmakers who called for an investigation into her legal status.

“Rep. Her stated she and her family entered the U.S. illegally,” Minnesota State Senator Eric Pratt, R-Prior Lake wrote on X. “There is no twisting of words… It’s clear she wanted to convey she is an undocumented immigrant impacted by the bill. She opened this door & the House of Representatives needs to investigate her comments immediately.”

On Monday, she released a statement clarifying that both she and her parents are U.S. citizens. Her said she became a citizen in junior high and accused critics of twisting her remarks into “anti-immigrant clickbait.”

“I shared a deeply personal story to show that many immigrants don’t fit into neat categories of ‘legal’ or ‘illegal,’” she said. “But to be clear: I am a U.S. citizen. So are my parents.”

Born in Laos in 1973, Her arrived in the U.S. at age 4 and grew up in St. Paul. She entered politics after a career in finance and public service, becoming one of several Hmong American legislators elected in Minnesota, home to one of the largest Hmong populations in the country.

Her family’s immigration story mirrors that of many Hmong refugees who fled post–Vietnam War persecution. Thousands escaped to refugee camps in Thailand and later resettled in the U.S. under the Refugee Act of 1980. Some families, she suggested, relied on alternative or improvised methods — including falsifying documents — to reach safety.

 

This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices.