HIV Travel And Immigration Ban

Floor Speech

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the Department of Health and Human Services has taken an important and overdue step toward ending our Nation's discriminatory ban on HIV-positive visitors and immigrants.

On July 2, 2009, the Department of Health and Human Services published proposed regulations that would lift the HIV travel and immigration ban. This policy change would remove HIV from the list of ``communicable diseases of public health significance.''

While we all know that HIV infection is a serious health condition, it does not represent a communicable disease that is a significant threat for transmission and spread to the U.S. population through casual contact. Officially ending this long-standing ban will help remove the stigma and discrimination often associated with HIV.

The United States is one of 12 countries in the world that ban HIV-positive visitors, nonimmigrants and immigrants. It seems illogical that the United States, a country that is a leader in the fight against the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, should legally ban all non-Americans who are HIV-positive.

The current travel and immigration ban prohibits HIV-positive foreign nationals from entering the United States unless they obtain a special waiver. This waiver is difficult to obtain and only allows for short-term travel. Immigrants who want to become legal permanent residents by applying for a green card are subject to a medical exam. Many individuals who have been denied a green card because of their HIV status confront a dilemma--either they go home where they might not have access to effective treatment or violate American law by remaining in the United States.

The ban undermines public health efforts by keeping researchers, advocates and experts from even entering the country. The current regulation stigmatizes and discriminates against people living with HIV and AIDS without justification and has serious consequences on individuals, families and our Nation. It separates loved ones, denies American businesses access to talented workers, and bars students and tourists from accessing opportunities and supporting our economy. Due to the ban, there have not been any international conferences on HIV/AIDS in the United States since 1990.

The ban originated in 1987, and was explicitly codified by Congress in 1993, despite efforts in the public health community to remove the ban when Congress reformed U.S. immigration law in the early 1990s. While immigration law excludes foreigners with any ``communicable disease of public health significance'' from entering the U.S., only HIV was ever explicitly singled out in the Immigration and Nationality Act. For all other communicable diseases, the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines whether a particular disease is of public health significance and should therefore constitute a ground for excluding noncitizens from entering or immigrating to the United States.

Last year, I strongly supported the Tom Lantos and Henry Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008, which Congress passed and the President signed into law. Included was a provision that removed the language from the Immigration and Nationality Act mandating that HIV be on the list of diseases that bar entry to the United States. This provision returned regulatory authority to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to determine whether HIV should remain on a list of communicable diseases that bar foreign nationals from entering the United States.

By proposing this regulation the administration is making a clear statement that the United States does not discriminate against people with HIV and does not endorse misconceptions of the past. I look forward to seeing the proposed regulation finalized in the coming months.

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