Newsday - August 3, 1991
Laurie Garrett - Staff Writer
That decision is a shift for the agency that has been fighting the Justice Department, which runs the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The Justice Department has been seeking to continue a total ban on immigrants infected with the AIDS virus, while HHS has argued that AIDS should be dropped from the communicable diseases list that bars entry.
Despite press reports that the warring agencies would soon announce an end to their three-month debate, "no decision is imminent," HHS spokesman John Gibbons said yesterday. HHS Secretary Louis Sullivan is still hoping to drop AIDS but is considering separating the two groups of foreign visitors, he said.
"I'm just not prepared to announce our policy firmly at this time," President George Bush told reporters yesterday. He said there has "been some movement on it since I've been gone."
In January, Sullivan announced his intention to remove all but infectious tuberculosis from the communicable disease list, which is used to bar aliens' entry or permanent residency in the country. The Justice Department protested, forcing Sullivan to open up a public comment period for responses to the proposal.
That public comment period ended yesterday, with more than 70,000 letters received by the federal health agency.
Facing sharp political pressure, Sullivan has softened his stand and is now leaning towards the American Medical Association position. That calls for an open admission policy for foreign travelers and short-term visitors, but mandatory HIV testing of those seeking long term visas and permanent residency.
But inside HHS, there are fears that the shift - ostensibly to counter claims that the cost of treating HIV-infected immigrants would be prohibitive - sends a false signal to Americans about the relative danger of HIV, because the virus would remain on at least one communicable disease list.
HHS is still reeling from the public's refusal to accept its assurances that it is safe to get medical care from HIV-positive doctors, nurses and dentists who follow proper safety precautions. "Now the public will say if we cave in and call it a communicable disease, that we're liars, and HIV is more dangerous than we said," one official said.
The White House is leaning strongly toward the Justice Department, sources in both agencies agreed. That leaves Sullivan, according to insiders, with three options:
He can continue talking with the Justice Department, allowing the ban on HIV positive travelers and immigrants to remain in place until a resolution is reached. There is no internal HHS deadline for completion of the process.
He can kick the issue back to Congress.
Or he can yield to the Justice Department on nearly everything, possibly salvaging unrestricted entry for short-term visitors and expanded waivers for specific types of HIV-positive students, scientists, and relatives of U.S. citizens.
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