Regulatory Change to HIV Travel Ban Continues to Stigmatize HIV-positive People, Fails to End Ban
Three months after Congress voted to repeal the ban on HIV-positive travelers to the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced yesterday that it has issued regulations which purport to “streamline” the waiver application process for HIV-positive short-term visitors. The move comes nearly two years after President Bush directed the agency to streamline the process and fails to follow Congress’ mandate to end the ban.
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The timing of these regulations is deeply troubling.
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In July, Congress issued a bipartisan message to this Administration – remove HIV as a barrier to travel and immigration. Instead of simply ending the HIV travel ban, the administration is again treating HIV differently from any other medical condition.
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Under the new rules, a short-term traveler must meet twelve stringent criteria that impose unnecessary burdens on HIV-positive travelers and continue to stigmatize those living with HIV. Some criteria are inconsistent with current medical knowledge of HIV transmission and treatment.
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Additionally, a traveler who avails him- or herself of the waiver must give up the right to apply for a green card from within the United States – even if he or she marries a U.S. citizen. By DHS’s own account, the “streamlining” provided by this rule simply shaves off eighteen days in processing time by allowing Department of State consular officers to make decisions on waivers without sending them to DHS for approval.
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We are on the eve of lifting this ban once and for all. Why is the Administration setting new waiver requirements in stone now? The time has come for this Administration to finish the job that Congress started this summer. It’s time to lift the HIV ban.
R these people working in DHS evolved? Why they have this kind of ridicous mind-set and reponse to HIV+? LGBT has been silence for decades and we have to stand up and fight for equality and our rights. Keep moving on Immigration Equality and all the LGBT authorities. We have to get rid of this ban. Enough is enough.
Comment by Kim — September 30, 2008 @ 4:25 pm
Also very troubling in the DHS rulemaking is their assertion that they found support for their decision based on consultation with the NIH and CDC even when hundreds of medical experts verified that the DHS proposal lacked scientific support. The basis from these other agencies should be publicly evaluated
Comment by Robert Reinhard — September 30, 2008 @ 5:28 pm
My relatively uninformed guess is that this issue is languishing somewhere near the bottom of the administration’s list of priorities. They probably don’t want to deal with the headache they’d get from the Hagees, Krikorians, Limbaughs, and Malkins. Which is unfortunate for all those whose waivers and green card applications will be denied during the time it takes for an Obama administration to do the right thing and fix this shit.
Obama will fix this, right … ? Has he made any public statement to this effect?
Comment by yave begnet — September 30, 2008 @ 6:37 pm
Obama …has made “general” “generic” statements
(obviously he does’nt want to stir up any drama)
but overall in looking at his stance on issues in general,……he leans more to “Fairness” and fixing
the “Disparities” and “un-fairnss” the everyday average person endures,…..so I’m comfortable with the fact he’ll deal with this in a humain and fair way
also….he has I’m sure (although I feel he’s a humble person also)…experienced some “issues” as a young man growing up, so he has “empathy” for ordinary people.
Comment by derek — September 30, 2008 @ 8:05 pm
Tips for positive travellers,restrictions and retreats on http://www.plwha.org
Comment by HiV travel restrictions and retreats — April 13, 2009 @ 5:43 pm
The epidemic has touched the whole world and even reached the tiniest islands on earth. We are all in this together. Other developing countries are hardest hit by th eepidemic and scramble for drugs to prolong life of theri cictizens , but are still welcoming western tourists who are HIV+ and also some who are gay. They are welcoming countries regardless of their poverty and unstable governments
Comment by Eve Naomi — April 14, 2009 @ 1:41 pm
Yes we are welcoming. So since we are in in together as a world. let us deal withit in a collective way. Many tourists from the west come and buy prostitutes here in mombasa an dthey have wives back in theri countries. There should b eno finger pointing and blaming the source of the disease on one particular continent.
We are all responsible for transporting it becasue of our behaviours and let us deal with it together.
people will continue to intermarry, travel and have sex because that is what it is supposed to be.The globe is so small that the blaming and labelling has to stop by those who hav enot realised that he virus is creeping upon them in their super power continents. It is not our problem it is also a the worlds problem. Lift the BAN and tell every body to keep theri zippers closed and take their medication freely in theri luggage when they travel. Train your airport officials to be polite. They are so rude to foreignors b eit HIV+ or HIV -
Comment by julie — April 14, 2009 @ 1:58 pm