stylistic:style_transfer, structural:scholar_edition
In the United States

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 emigrated. This first wave was made up predominantly of men directly associated with General Vang Pao 's secret army. It was not until the passage of the Refugee Act of 1980 that families were able to enter the U.S., becoming the second wave of Hmong immigrants. Hmong families were scattered across all 50 states but most found their way to each other, building large communities in California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Washington State and Oregon. Smaller, but still sizeable communities also formed in Massachusetts (Lowell), Michigan (Detroit), Montana (Missoula) and Alaska (Anchorage).