Arias was an aide in Congress in the 2000s when he was tasked with helping relocate a last wave of Hmong refugees from Thailand. He worked with the elders, who serve as the community’s spiritual and cultural leaders and who fought in the Vietnam War.

The Hmong community in Fresno has flourished, Arias said, with children growing up to be doctors, lawyers, teachers and elected leaders. The community has done better than other ethnic groups in graduating from high school and avoiding gangs, he said.

Hmong Americans struggle with poverty more so than most other Asian American ethnic groups, said Karthick Ramakrishnan, associate dean of the University of California, Riverside, School of Public Policy. But the community also has a strong sense of solidarity and high rates of political participation, he said.

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