Hmong Cultural Center

By Mark Pfeifer

This month’s updates from the Hmong Cultural Center. 

New Publication: 50 Years Of The Hmong In Minnesota Coming Soon

Hmong Cultural Center will soon publish 50 Years of Hmong in Minnesota in partnership with HER Publisher. This book is likely the first comprehensive scholarly collection of articles to be published solely focused on the Hmong experience in Minnesota. This project has been made possible in part by the people of Minnesota through a 50 Years of Southeast Asians in Minnesota grant funded by an appropriation to the Minnesota Historical Society from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Citizenship Program Update

The Trump Administration’s Executive Order Proclamation 10998: Restricting and Limiting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the Security of the United States which has halted the processing of applications for naturalization benefits from nationals of Laos as well as those of 38 other countries was declared unlawful and set aside by a federal judge in June 2026. The Trump Administration has appealed the decision, an effort to have the decision stayed during the appeal process was denied in July. The Executive Order had prevented the processing of naturalization applications from thousands of Hmong born in Laos, in Minnesota and across the United States since November 2025.

As of early August 2026, many of Hmong Cultural Center’s Citizenship students, who had been waiting for updates on their applications since last year, have heard back from USCIS that their applications are now being processed. A few of our students have been given naturalization interview dates. It is of concern that one of our students who had been waiting for almost a year had an interview scheduled for Wichita, Kansas with no opportunity offered to schedule closer to Minnesota. Hmong Cultural Center is committed to helping our students and the broader community through this continuing difficult and uncertain time. This includes providing information about changes in federal policies including resources to prepare for the new, more difficult Citizenship exam and the discussion of legal considerations that permanent residents should be aware of prior to applying for naturalization as well as the sharing of legal aid resources.

New Funding Support for Hmong Cultural Center

Hmong Cultural Center has been awarded a FY27 City of Saint Paul Cultural Star grant of $30,000 to support the 2027 Qeej and Hmong Arts Festival to be held at Union Depot in downtown Saint Paul. Hmong Cultural Center is very grateful to the City of Saint Paul for this support.

Images courtesy Hmong Cultural Center