Gay-rights activists are joining AIDS advocates in lobbying Congress to end travel restrictions on HIV-positive visitors to the United States. The limits are discriminatory since HIV is the only medical condition the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) makes grounds for prohibiting a non-national's entry, critics say.
Under a 1993 amendment to INA, HIV-positive visitors may obtain visas to enter the United States, but only under limited circumstances and if they receive a waiver from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Under a provision in the Senate bill that reauthorizes the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the 1993 restrictions would be deleted. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee could vote on the measure on Thursday. The House PEPFAR bill does not contain language repealing the restrictions. A stand-alone measure to strike the travel limits is also being sponsored by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.).
Ending the exclusionary policy is a "reform that is long needed," Kerry said in a conference call with Lee and Joe Solmonese of the Human Rights Campaign. The International AIDS Conference has not been held in the United States since Congress passed the restriction, Lee noted. The United States is one of a small number of countries that block the entrance of HIV-positive foreigners, according to rights activists.
Under a rule proposed by DHS, foreign HIV-positive travelers would have to gain US entry approval from American consulates in their home countries. Critics contend the law is not an improvement, as it still requires travelers to agree to certain conditions such as those that would preclude staying longer or applying for permanent residency.
03/11/08
UNITED STATES: Gay-Rights Activists See Chance to Repeal HIV Travel Restrictions
Source: Associated Press:: Erica Werner; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention