Many Hmong refugees resettled in the United States after the Vietnam War. Beginning in December 1975, the first Hmong refugees arrived in the U.S., mainly from refugee camps in Thailand; however, only 3,466 were granted asylum at that time under the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975. In May 1976, another 11,000 were allowed to enter the United States, and by 1978 some 30,000 Hmong people had immigrated.
The Hmong community is very religious for the most part. In some of the large cities where Lao and Hmong-Americans live and work, tensions have, on rare occasion, running high between them and neighboring ethnic groups. Hmong people have sometimes been targets of discrimination, mainly because of job competition and stereotyping of them as foreigners and too dependent on welfare. Some of their persecutors justified their actions by claiming that the Hmong unnecessarily took jobs, welfare money, and other services away from long-time residents.
As with any social issues, these communities evolve to being very successful but also they suffer issues such as crime that is perpetrated by their own. Hmong gangs are considered to be some of the most violent Asian gangs on the US. These gangs are formed mainly by younger generations of Hmong; they become enchanted with the American way of life and get involved with crime.
Throughout the United States, the number of Hmong gangs and the level of their criminal activity are increasing in severity. Their participation in criminal activity has evolved over time. During that evolution, they have become involved in a wide range of crimes, such as homicides, gang rapes, prostitution, home invasions, burglaries, auto thefts, and, most recently, the sale and distribution of illicit drugs. The crime of rape, however, with its violent nature, its strong incorporation into the gang’s operational structure, and the serious implications for the victim and the overall Hmong community, represents a particular concern to the law enforcement profession and requires a special focus to find ways of decreasing its occurrence. To this end, the law enforcement community must examine the unique structure of Hmong gangs, including their historical and cultural influences, and the characteristics of the “ritual” use of rape by these gangs and the impact on the victims.
The Hmong gangs started forming in St. Paul and Ramsey County, Minnesota, in the mid-1980s.2 The first Hmong gang in Minnesota, the Cobra gang, began as a group of teenage friends who played on a soccer team. At the time, the majority lived in housing projects and banded together to protect themselves and other Hmong youth from the racism occurring in their schools and neighborhoods. Eventually, some members of the Cobra soccer team became involved in crimes, leading to the evolution of the Cobra gang.
In addition to this gang, several others, such as the White Tigers, Oroville Mono Boys, Oriental Ruthless Boys, and Asian Crips, exist in Minnesota and throughout the country. These gangs, comprised of many members, operate in California, North and South Carolina, Rhode Island, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Because Hmong gangs are not as organized as African-American and Hispanic gangs in leadership and rank structure, their members do not need to ask a leader for permission before committing a crime. In fact, some members of the gang may not know that their own members have perpetrated a crime.