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WORLD AIDS DAY 2007: DISCRIMINATORY HIV IMMIGRATION BAR STILL STANDS
GMHC Calls For Legislative Action to Overturn the Ban
New York, NY — On World AIDS Day 2006, the White House announced that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would propose a "categorical waiver for HIV-positive people seeking to enter the United States on short-term visas." A year later, the reprehensible bar that prohibits HIV-positive people from entering the country still stands.
"We knew from the outset that there would be nothing 'categorical' about it: The Bush Administration wasn't going to remove HIV as grounds for inadmissibility to the U.S. for travelers or for immigrants," said Nancy Ordover, Ph.D., assistant director for research and federal affairs at GMHC and coordinator of the Coalition to Lift the Bar. "What we didn't anticipate was how much potential harm the proposal would do. DHS is using this opening, limited as it is, to shore up a discriminatory and unjustifiable policy. It is a profound illustration of the need for legislative change."
In addition to upholding existing provisions of the current regulation, (e.g., immigrants with HIV would still be rendered inadmissible and subject to waiver requirements that are usually unattainable, and HIV+ travelers seeking a waiver would still be limited to visits of 30 days or less) the long-awaited DHS proposal introduces some new and troubling criteria. Among these is the requirement that applicants forgo the opportunity to apply for an extension of their stay, a change in nonimmigrant status, or an adjustment of status to that of permanent resident.
While the travel and immigration restrictions are often talked about as distinct, they are in fact inseverable, residing in a single sentence of the U. S. Immigration and Nationality Act that states that, "any alien who is determined…to have a communicable disease of public health significance, which shall include infection with the etiologic agent for acquired immune deficiency syndrome . . . ." is ineligible to receive a visa or to be admitted to the U.S.
GMHC will be submitting comments to DHS regarding the proposed rule. "Until Congress undoes this legislation, DHS may be limited in what they can do," explained Vishal Trivedi, manager of GMHC's Immigration Project, "but if the White House was serious about protecting the human rights of people living with HIV, they could have invited legislation overturning the policy."
This World AIDS Day, GMHC is encouraging everyone who cares about the rights and freedoms of people with HIV to contact their Senators and Congress members and demand they take action to overturn the ban, now in its 20th year. "The fallout has been catastrophic, especially for HIV+ immigrants. No green card translates into no medical benefits, no housing assistance, and an increased risk of ending up in detention. People have died as a direct consequence of this policy and our legislators need to know that we are not going to stand for this any longer."
Individuals who wish to protest the harsh new DHS regs on HIV-positive travel may submit comments online at http://www.regulations.gov — but to do so you must include the docket number of the proposed regs, USCBP-2007-0084.
Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) is a not-for-profit, volunteer-supported and community-based organization committed to national leadership in the fight against AIDS. Our mission is to reduce the spread of HIV disease, help people with HIV maintain and improve their health and independence, and keep the prevention, treatment and cure of HIV an urgent national and local priority. In fulfilling this mission, we will remain true to our heritage by fighting homophobia and affirming the individual dignity of all gay men and lesbians. We provide services and programs to over 15,000 men, women and families that are living with or affected by HIV/AIDS in New York City, and outreach and education to hundreds of thousands throughout the world. For more information, please visit www.gmhc.org.
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© 2007 Gay Men's Health Crisis
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