About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


25 Immigr. & Nat'lity L. Rev. 877 (2004)
Lifting the Ban on HIV-Positive Immigrants: The Only Feasible Way to Circumvent Current U.S. Immigration Policy

handle is hein.journals/inlr25 and id is 889 raw text is: COMMENT LIFTING THE BAN ON HIV-POSITIVE IMMIGRANTS: THE ONLY FEASIBLE WAY TO CIRCUMVENT CURRENT U.S. IMMIGRATION POLICY John Neil Grindstaff* INTRODUCTION The United States' policy of excluding HIV-positive immigrants has had a devastating impact on those who have been denied entry into the country due to their HIV status. In June 2004, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the International Organization on Migration (IOM) prepared a unified statement that denounced HIV- related travel restrictions.' Global surveys estimate that as many as 101 countries maintain some restriction on the right of HIV-positive persons to travel within their borders.2 Most countries, including the United States, that employ exclusionary bans justify the policy as being indispensable to protecting public health from the possible spread of HIV/AIDS and preventing an impending invasion of HIV-positive immigrants, which would significantly increase government healthcare Associate Member, 2004-2005 Immigration and Nationality Law Review. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and the Inter- national Organization on Migration, UNAIDS/IOM Statement on HIVIAIDS- Related Travel Restrictions 1 (June 2004)(stating that [t]he candidate immigrant, refugee, student or other traveler may simultaneously learn that s/he is infected with HIV, that s/he may not be allowed to travel, and possibly that his/her status has become known to government officials, or to family, community, and employer, exposing the individual to possibly serious discrimination and stigma), available at <http://www.unaids. org/NetTools/M isc/DocInfo. aspx?LANG=en&href=http%3 a%2 f'/o2 fgva-docowl%2 fWE Bcontent% 2 f Documents%2fpub%2fUNA-docs%2fUNAIDS-IOM_ TravelRestrictionsen%26%2346%3bpdf> (last visited May 1, 2005). 2 Id. (citing Deutsche AIDS Hilfe, Quick Reference, Travel and Residence Regulations for People with HIV/AIDS (2000), at <http://www. aidshilfe.de>).