'Anybody That Comes Here And Works Hard Can Succeed': Glenn Grothman Praises Hmong Americans

In House floor remarks on Wednesdays, Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) praised Hmong Americans.

Transcript

00:01Over the last couple weekends I have attended two events of the Hmong Americans which populate Wisconsin.

00:08Wisconsin is the third highest Hmong population in the country.

00:14I always love to talk about the Hmong because they came here not knowing a word of English, or many of them do not know a word of English.

00:21Nevertheless, they have largely succeeded.

00:24I like to have a conversation with somebody maybe in the 60s or 70s, and I ask them how many children they have,

00:31and then I ask them how many grandchildren they have, how many brothers and sisters they have, and how many nieces and nephews they have.

00:38Well, the Hmong came here with big families like recent immigrants frequently do,

00:42so they might be here with 40 or 50 grandchildren plus nieces and nephews.

00:49And then I ask them, how are they doing?

00:52How many of all these children did not graduate from high school? None.

00:58How many of these 40 grandchildren or nieces or nephews had any problems with the law? None.

01:05How many of the young gals got pregnant out of wedlock? None.

01:09Nevertheless, they all seem to be succeeding despite the fact that they came here with all these supposed disadvantages.

01:18So I would like to one more time salute the Hmong who proved that anybody who comes here and works hard can succeed.