PHR CAMPAIGNS

PHR Action Center

Tell the White House to Abolish the US HIV Travel Ban

The reauthorization of the PEPFAR global AIDS legislation included a provision removing the current statutory ban on travel and immigration for people living with HIV/AIDS who wish to enter the United States. Yet the Administration still lists HIV on the list of "communicable diseases of public health significance" that automatically preclude a person from entering the United States.

Representatives Barbara Lee, Henry Waxman and Howard Berman are circulating a letter to other members of Congress urging the White House to swiftly reassess the Administration's HIV travel ban.

Ask your Representative to co-sign the letter urging the White House to completely abolish the discriminatory travel ban and to help ensure the complete elimination of HIV-related travel restrictions.

Please personalize the beginning of your message in the space provided, by telling your own story or discussing why this issue is important to you.

For any questions about this action or composing your letter, please contact Jirair Ratevosian.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Please Co-sign Letter Urging White House to Immediately Reassess HIV Travel Ban

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I want to express my sincere gratitude for the passage of HR 5501, The Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008, now Public Law No. 110-293.

As you know, PL 110-293 includes a provision removing the statutory ban on travel and immigration for people living with HIV/AIDS who wish to enter the United States. However, HIV is still on the list of diseases that automatically preclude a person from entering the United States. Removing this final obstacle requires action on the part of the Administration.

Please sign onto the letter being circulated by Representatives Barbara Lee and Henry Waxman asking President Bush and his Administration to move swiftly to re-evaluate this policy and remove HIV from the list of diseases that automatically bar entry to the U.S. There is no evidence to support the current policy. People living with HIV are not a threat to public health and travel restrictions violate the human rights of people living with HIV. The World Health Organization, UNAIDS, and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights all oppose the use of HIV and AIDS-related travel restrictions.

After signing onto the Lee/Waxman letter, please continue to press for complete elimination of HIV-related travel restrictions. Ending the HIV travel ban is the right thing to do and it is long overdue.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
August 27, 2008

Background Information

Since 1991, the United States has prohibited HIV positive travelers from entering or crossing its borders without obtaining a special waiver, which is then stamped on the traveler's passport as a permanent record of his or her HIV status.

HIV related travel restrictions remain a serious violation of the human rights of people living with HIV, including the right to confidentiality, privacy and freedom of movement. Not only is this policy an international embarrassment, it perpetuates on-going stigma and misunderstanding of the disease. The HIV travel ban is the sole reason that no international AIDS conferences have been held on US soil for the last 16 years.

The World Health Organization, UNAIDS, and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights all oppose the use of HIV and AIDS-related travel restrictions. These agencies say HIV and AIDS do not pose a threat to public health because, although it is infectious, HIV cannot be transmitted through casual contact (through the air, or from common vehicles such as food or water).

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