AIDS Activists Rally for Repeal of HIV Immigration Policy
A series of coordinated rallies will take place along the U.S./Canadian border on Aug. 16 in protest of the ongoing ban preventing HIV+ travelers and immigrants from entering the United States.
In a triumph of bureaucracy over law, the ban was officially lifted by Congress, but relevant U.S. Department of Health & Human Services regulations have not been revised, and HIV+ visitors are still not allowed to enter the country.
The ban has been in place since the 1980s, despite a greater scientific understanding of AIDS and the virus, HIV, that causes it.
HIV cannot be transmitted through casual contact.
Even so, as sixty Canadian would-be attendees to June's North American Housing and HIV/AIDS Research Summit in Washington, D.C., learned last spring, HIV+ travelers entering the country are only allowed to cross the border after obtaining special permission, despite then-President Bush signing legislation to lift the ban last year.
Calling the ban "despicable," a press release from Housing Works announced that "HIV-positive U.S. residents will cross from Canada to the U.S to emphasize the discriminatory nature of the ban."
The rallies are timed to show support for an Obama administration initiative to remove the last bureaucratic barriers to free travel in the U.S. by HIV+ visitors.
"The U.S. is very close to lifting this ban; national and international voices are needed to ensure that this is done," the release notes.
The rallies will take place at "Peace Arch Park, Surrey, British, Columbia, the last stop before the Canadian U.S. border and Central Avenue, Fort Erie - QEW Overpass across the bridge to Buffalo, New York," the release advises.
"The Surrey, BC event takes place August 16 from 10:30 am to 1:30 p.m.," adds the release.
"The Buffalo event takes place on Aug. 16 from 2:30 pm to 3:15 p.m."
The event is expected to draw "Hundreds of people living with HIV and their supporters from Canada and the U.S.,": the release says.
"Speakers at the Surrey, BC event include Surrey Mayor Barinder Rasode and Vancouver Centre Member of Parliament Dr. Hedy Fry.
"Speakers at the Fort Erie event include representatives from local AIDS Service Organizations from both Canada and the United States."
Text at the Housing Works Web site relates, "Martin Rooney, who is spearheading the action in Surrey, became passionately committed to ending the travel ban when he was stopped at the border entering the United States from Canada in November 2007 and was questioned about his HIV status.
"Rooney was told that, despite violating the law ban on HIV-positive travelers, he could enter the country by paying for a $130 waiver. Rooney objected on principle."
The text at the site quotes Rooney as saying, "Either I'm a threat to the U.S. or I'm not, and $130 shouldn't change that."
Immigration Equality also noted the probable upcoming end of the ban, with text at the group's Web site quoting executive director Rachel B. Tiven as saying, "Immigration Equality has been committed, for over a decade, to repealing this ban
that disproportionately affects LGBT people.
I am thrilled to report that after so many years of discrimination, the end is in sight," Tiven added.
Immigration Equality encouraged readers to add their voices to those speaking out against the ban during the public comment period.
Noted text at the site, "We still have a couple of procedural hurdles to clear, but the end is definitely in sight.
"None of this would have been possible without the leadership of Senator John Kerry, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and former Senator Gordon Smith, who led the fight in Congress last year to remove the statutory HIV ban.
"Immigration Equality has also convened a broad-based coalition that has continued to push for full equality under U.S. immigration law for people living with HIV," the text added.