Bay Windows - July 16, 2008
Laura Kiritsy, Editor-in-chief

New York, NY, July 17, 2008 - Immigration Equality hails the Senate's vote to lift the HIV immigration and travel ban. The Senate voted today to repeal the language that bars people with HIV/AIDS from entering the U.S., as part of the legislation reauthorizing the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The Senate approved PEPFAR by a vote of 80 to 16.

"Congress has finally moved to end the HIV ban - a ban based on myth and misinformation," said Rachel B. Tiven, Executive Director of Immigration Equality. "For twenty years, the United States has barred HIV-positive travelers from entering the country even for one day. Today the Senate said loud and clear that AIDS exceptionalism must come to an end."

HIV is the only disease excluded by Congressional fiat; all other decisions on communicable diseases are left to the discretion of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The repeal provision in the PEPFAR bill will remove the anti-HIV language from the Immigration and Nationality Act, and restore the determination of whether HIV is "communicable disease of public health significance," to the discretion of HHS.

Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) led the effort to repeal the HIV ban. Said Senator Kerry, "Today we are one step closer to ending a discriminatory practice that stigmatizes all those living with HIV, squanders our moral authority, and sets us back in the fight against AIDS. By passing PEPFAR today the Senate not only has made a powerful statement about our commitment to eradicating HIV/AIDS but we have also voted to overturn the HIV travel and immigration ban that has no foundation in public health or common sense. There was no reason for this policy to still be on the books, and I am proud to have been part of eliminating this draconian ban. I sincerely hope we can get this to the President as quickly as possible to finally end this misguided policy."

"When the United States finally stops discriminating against HIV-positive people we will send a powerful signal to the world that it's not acceptable to stigmatize the millions of people living with this disease," said Rachel Tiven. "With today's news, we feel that moment is almost here."

Immigration Equality, the national voice for LGBT and HIV-positive immigrants and their families, provides legal advice, representation, and advocacy for those impacted by the discriminatory impact of the HIV ban. Lesbian and gay immigrants are disproportionately affected by the ban because their families cannot qualify for a limited waiver to the HIV ban that heterosexual couples enjoy.

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