AEGiS-Miami Herald: AIDS Exclusion Is Wrong

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1991. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

AIDS Exclusion Is Wrong

Miami Herald (MH) - Friday May 31, 1991
Herald Staff

THE JUSTICE Department has reimposed an injustice by prohibiting HIV-infected foreigners from entering this country for any reason. HIV is the virus believed to cause AIDS. It makes sense to add infection with the AIDS virus to the list of conditions that make one ineligible to immigrate to the United States, but it makes no sense to ban HIV carriers from visiting temporarily.

In January, Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, Secretary of Health and Human Services, proposed to remove HIV infection from the conditions justifying exclusion. Currently, aliens "afflicted with any dangerous contagious disease" generally can't get a visa to visit or live in the United States. The Immigration Act of 1990 redefined the grounds for exclusion to bar those with "a communicable disease of public significance."

Dr. Sullivan's sound reasoning: Foreigners with HIV do not pose a significant threat to the U.S. population. The virus is not spread by casual contact or through air or water. It spreads principally through sexual intercourse and sharing of drug needles.

The exclusion had been denounced by the World Health Organization, the International Red Cross, and other respected agencies. Dr. Sullivan's directive was to take effect tomorrow, but now he wants another two months for receiving more public comment. So far, 90 percent of 39,000 commentaries received oppose his proposal.

Quite likely that percentage reflects public perceptions and fear of AIDS rather than medical reality. Dr. Sullivan still has the final decision, and he must base it on medical grounds, not public hysteria.

If he does, his final decision will still be basically what he originally proposed: Let HIV-positive foreigners visit this country, but ban them from immigrating to become permanent residents. That distinction would uphold free travel and academic exchanges while protecting American taxpayers from the burden of health care for foreigners who have a fatal disease.
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