U.S. May Lift Ban On Visitors With HIV

Senate Bill Would Repeal Restriction Against Travelers And Immigrants

(AP)  A two-decade ban on people with HIV visiting or immigrating to the United States may end soon through a Senate bill aimed at fighting AIDS and other diseases in Africa and other poor areas of the world.

The U.S. is one of a dozen countries - including Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Libya and Russia - that ban travel and immigration for HIV-positive people.

Even China, said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., recently changed that policy, deciding it was "time to move beyond an antiquated, knee-jerk reaction" to people with HIV.

"There's no excuse for a law that stigmatizes a particular disease," Kerry said Tuesday at a speech to the Center for Strategic & International Studies HIV/AIDS Task Force. Even people with avian flu or the Ebola virus have an easier time than those with HIV when it comes to applying for visas, he said.

Kerry and Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., are trying to repeal the ban, first implemented in 1987 and confirmed by Congress in 1993. The two have attached their measure to legislation - which the Senate may pass this week - that would provide $50 billion over the next five years to fight AIDS and other diseases in Africa and other poor areas.

Foreign citizens, students and tourists can apply for a difficult-to-obtain special waiver for short-term visits, but an HIV-positive person has little chance of obtaining permanent residency.

Under current law, HIV is the only medical condition explicitly listed under immigration law. The Kerry-Smith provision would make HIV equivalent to other communicable diseases where medical and public health experts at the Health and Human Services Department - not consular officials at U.S. embassies - determine eligibility for admission.

Those with HIV seeking legal permanent residency would still have to demonstrate they have the resources to live in this country and would not become a "public charge."

The HIV ban was "adopted during a time of widespread fear and ignorance about the HIV virus," said Allison Herwitt, legislative director of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay and lesbian civil rights group.

Among the consequences, experts on HIV and AIDS who are themselves infected have been unable to attend conferences in the U.S. Students and refugees in the country who may be at risk of infection have been reluctant to seek testing or treatment.

"Health care professionals, researchers and other exceptionally talented people have been blocked from the United States," some 160 health and AIDS groups said recently in a letter urging Congress to end the current policy. "Since 1993, the International Conference on AIDS has not been held on U.S. soil due to this policy."

Herwitt said some HIV-positive people seeking visas lie on their applications and then don't bring their medications. "It's not only wrongheaded and discriminatory, but can also cause people to not tell the truth."

Both President George H.W. Bush and President Clinton sought to ease the policy and in 2006 the current President Bush asked the Homeland Security Department to streamline the waiver process. Congress so far has not gone along.

There's still opposition.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., may offer an amendment to eliminate the Kerry-Smith provision from the Senate bill. Sessions cited Congressional Budget Office estimates that the new immigrants coming in under the relaxed policy could cost the government more than $80 million over a 10-year period. "Most people just don't want to talk about that."

Sessions said the Health and Human Services Department already has considerable flexibility to grant entry visas.

The measure would offset the costs of new immigrants by raising the price of applying for a visitor's visa by $1 for three years and then $2 for the next five years.

The House version of the Africa AIDs bill does not have the travel and immigration provision, but advocates said it will be included in the final version of the bill that goes to the president.

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., is sponsoring companion legislation in the House.

The Africa AIDS bill is S. 2731.

[soloman6]

GOD HELPS US. This was the way how AIDS got transmitted in the US

[medmom04]

Good. Lift it. How discriminatory and shameful that this ever existed. As well, knowing full well which population sect in Africa is most affected by HIV, and knowing full well that it is disgusting that we have not helped these populations and provided treatment, we could end the discrimination somewhere, right?????

[nothappyatall]

"There is NO reason to lift this ban. Now those suffering with it and unable to afford the treatments will come here and suck off our welfare. You know that is what will happen. This country is a riot."

Yeah because if someone gets SICK here and goes to the emergency room, they HAVE to trat them

[nothappyatall]

"There''s no excuse for a law that stigmatizes a particular disease,"

A foreigner carrying a FATAL disease that other people can contract is "stigmatizing" them??? I guess if they had Smallpox in the 50''s and being kept in quaranteen would be a violation of civil rights today eh?

[nssherlock1]

Maybe they could just brand a large red circle with a diagonal slash on the forehead on these ''visitors''. lol

[randynason]

Heil, Bush! This past decade, scientists with HIV were refused admittance to the U.S. to help work on a cure for the deadly disease. Now that Bush''s term of office is expiring, I guess the U.S. is considering joining the twenty-first century. It''s funny how we''re always so late for our own parties.

[erasmus81]

"Why should we be welcoming people with diseases into this country?" Posted by cold777 at 01:09 PM : Jul 16, 2008

"Other countries welcome your disease ridden citizens into their country, don''''t they? What about what''''s his face, the guy with TB?" Posted by erasmus81 at 01:30 PM : Jul 16, 2008

I wasn''t saying it should be allowed, I was just saying....

[erasmus81]

"Why should we be welcoming people with diseases into this country?" Posted by cold777 at 01:09 PM : Jul 16, 2008

Other countries welcome your disease ridden citizens into their country, don''t they? What about what''s his face, the guy with TB?

[erasmus81]

"i could not go into canada because i had one drug bust in america 30 years ago! america..." Posted by gary7747 at 09:52 AM : Jul 16, 2008

See, now that is why Canada is still pretty "pure".:)

[hypnotoad72]

Ignorance leads to fear leads to hate. Said many times in many ways. I didn''''t make it up.

Posted by Caeric
--------------

Ignorance also allowed a disease to rampantly spread.

Ignorance can also lead to apathy, which is why it still gets spread.

[cold777]

Why should we be welcoming people with diseases into this country?

[hypnotoad72]

Why not? We have plenty of our own selfishly spreading the disease. May as well bring in others, whose strains are different, increase the chances they spread the disease, which in turn creates new variants, which makes treating even more difficult...

/abjectsarcasm

Biology 101 -- something new happens, quarantine and profile for the sake of the majority.

[aggiekat2004]

"There is NO reason to lift this ban. Now those suffering with it and unable to afford the treatments will come here and suck off our welfare. You know that is what will happen. This country is a riot."

Absolutely...heck, all the illegal immigrants are already having anchor babies on our system. AIDS is expensive to treat...what the heck...our welfare system can handle it.

Or would I rather help someone with AIDS than someone who''s sucking off the system and having 10 babies and collecting welfare. Perhaps the AIDS-infected people can infect the welfare suckers, and the whole problem is fixed.

[maedean]

What the helll are they thinking ???? We do not need anymore diseased people immigrating to The US.Don''t we already pay enough for the ones who are already here?? Stupid is as stupid does....

[selwynlaw]

Once again, Senator Sessions shows his desire to take over Jessie Helms'' crown for Queen (haha) of BigotLand

[caeric]

RE: DaVicar2''s last post.

You seem to be confusing survival instinct with learned behaviors. There is a distinct difference.

Similarly, you mistake a doctor using the proper precautions as fear. If the doctor feared, he (or she) wouldn''t be able to help anyone who is sick. There is no fear in his (or her) action, only proper precautionary practice. In fact, the use of such precautions is most likely based in 1) intelligence and 2) education. Fear doesn''t enter the picture.

[caeric]

...that is because I reserve the right to HATE what I HATE, and FEAR what I FEAR! And not have persons such as yourself arbitrarily decide which is which.

-DaVicar2

I never told you who to hate or fear. I only said that America would be better off without all the haters. Take it as you will.

[caeric]

I am tired of being called homophobic (someone who fears ***) when all I really do is HATE them...
-DaVicar2

Odd, how I used the word hatemonger, and you admit that you hate, then you get upset that you''ve been called a hatemonger.... even though I never specifically referred to you. Something about shoes and fitting here...

Ignorance leads to fear leads to hate. Said many times in many ways. I didn''t make it up.

[questionnews]

This is a frightening thought -

"Terrorists" who want to die "for Allah" will intentionally infect themselves;

They''''ll come to America and spread it around, accomplishing slowly what they could not accomplish by crashing airplanes on 9/11.

Since we don''''t have universal health care, too many of us will die . . . . . .


Posted by mswolfestock at 11:00 AM : Jul 16, 2008

I just had a visual of tour buses filled with jihadists going to San Francisco & pulling up in front of a bath house & hundreds of terrorists piling into a big tub cat calling any guy how walks by with: "Heeelloooo Sailor! Looking for a good time??!!"

[mswolfestock]

This is a frightening thought -

"Terrorists" who want to die "for Allah" will intentionally infect themselves;

They''ll come to America and spread it around, accomplishing slowly what they could not accomplish by crashing airplanes on 9/11.

Since we don''t have universal health care, too many of us will die . . . . . .