Campaign To End Hiv Travel Ban

Sign the Petition : 150 Letters and Emails Sent So Far

I urge you to support H.R. 3337 introduced by Congresswoman Barbara Lee in August 2007 to the House of Representatives and S. 2486 introduced by Senators John Kerry and Gordon Smith to the Senate in December 2007. The HIV Nondiscrimination in Travel and Immigration act of 2007 will “remove from the Immigration and Nationality Act the provision rendering individuals having HIV inadmissible to the United States.”

The "travel ban" was passed by Congress in 1993 when hysteria over HIV was at its peak, before the introduction of effective treatments. This was fueled mainly by unfounded fear of an “imported epidemic” that might sweep the country and paralyze the health care system. In protest, the International AIDS Society has refused to hold its huge biennial conference in the US until the law is changed, and the World Health Organization has called the policy a violation of human rights.

H.R. 3337 and S. 2486 correctly state that “there is no scientific evidence to support the claim that the HIV travel and immigration ban is an effective way to prevent the spread of HIV or that it provides any economic benefit by reducing costs to the public health care system.” This conclusion has been endorsed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies Task Force on HIV/AIDS, which is co-chaired by former senator and majority leader Bill Frist and Senator Russell Feingold among others ("Moving Beyond the U.S. Government Policy of Inadmissibility of HIV-Infected Noncitizens," March 2007, http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/movingbeyondinadmissibility.pdf) and many advocacy groups and professional organizations including the International AIDS Society (http://www.iasociety.org/Web/WebContent/File/ias_policy%20paper_08.pdf).

Retaining the current travel and immigration ban runs counter to public health best practices and jeopardizes the United States’ critical leadership position in controlling the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. It also unduly stigmatizes and discriminates HIV-infected tourists, foreign students, prospective immigrants, and refugees from entry into the United States.

The United States is one of only 13 countries now (including Armenia, Brunei, China, Iraq, Qatar, South Korea, Libya, Moldova, Oman, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan) that maintain by law both a travel and immigration ban for persons with HIV. In a positive move, China has most recently announced that it will repeal its immigration laws that restrict people with HIV traveling to the country.

It is time for the United States to repeal the travel and immigration ban against HIV-infected non-citizens. I respectfully ask for your support and assistance in moving H.R. 3337 and S. 2486 forward by your colleagues in the House Committee of the Judiciary (Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law) and the Senate Committee of the Judiciary where the bills now reside. Please help get us one step closer to making this repeal a reality. It is the right thing to do and it is long overdue.		Campaign To End Hiv Travel Ban

Enter Your Name and Submit to Sign

don't show my name

Vertical Line
 Add your public comments (optional):

People signing the "Campaign To End Hiv Travel Ban" petition!

  1. Fri., Oct. 23, 2009 12:17 PM    link Jos G. | ,

  2. Sat., Aug. 15, 2009 7:28 AM    link Name not displayed | ,

  3. Sun., Jan. 25, 2009 4:41 PM    link Emily R. | Washington, DC

  4. Mon., Nov. 24, 2008 2:28 PM    link Name not displayed | Trabuco Canyon, CA

  5. Thu., Nov. 20, 2008 11:43 AM    link Philip B. | West Hollywood, CA

  6. Wed., Nov. 19, 2008 3:38 AM    link Michelle F. | San Rafael, CA

  7. Wed., Oct. 29, 2008 7:24 AM    link tamara v. | Miami, FL

  8. Wed., Oct. 29, 2008 5:56 AM    link Name not displayed | New York, NY

  9. Wed., Oct. 29, 2008 5:53 AM    link Name not displayed | New York, NY

  10. Sat., Oct. 25, 2008 9:27 PM    link kayla w. | Palm Bay, FL

  11. Mon., Oct. 20, 2008 3:17 PM    link Michele B. | Fort Mill, SC

  12. Tue., Oct. 7, 2008 9:45 PM    link Jamila G. | Sherman Oaks, CA

  13. Fri., Jul. 18, 2008 2:11 PM    link Teri C. | State College, PA

    As an American, I am embarrassed to have this travel and immigration ban still in place. I urge you to repeal it.

  14. This comment has been reported to the site manager. It will be reviewed and removed if inappropriate. Thank you!

  15. Tue., Jul. 15, 2008 10:38 PM    link Eva K. | Flushing, NY

    During the early 1990's I was still in New York City's public high school. I remember very well all the education I received regarding HIV and AIDS. Besides learning ways to prevent HIV, we were also taught to be compassionate toward all those who are the victims of this disease. I've only learned about this HIV travel and immigration ban recently, it's absolutely shocking that such laws even exist in the US. The US always represents compassion and inclusiveness to the world. Are we just a bunch of hypocrites in the end? I hope not.

  16. This comment has been reported to the site manager. It will be reviewed and removed if inappropriate. Thank you!

  17. Wed., Jul. 9, 2008 9:03 PM    link Roman G. | Glendale, AZ

    This ban is a pointless law which discriminates against the sick and tears apart families because of the misguided fear-mongering of a more ignorant time. Myself and many people I know care deeply about this issue, and as my representatives I'd like to ask you to end this policy. Thank you.

  18. This comment has been reported to the site manager. It will be reviewed and removed if inappropriate. Thank you!

  19. Mon., Jun. 30, 2008 1:18 PM    link Laura B. | Pawtucket, RI

  20. Thu., Jun. 12, 2008 10:10 AM    link Matthew S. | Watertown, MA

    The Government Under the 4th Reich, other wise known as the Bush Administration has gone too far. This country is the land of opportunity, not the land of segregation! At this rate we might as well force Jews to wear the Star of David again, or lock the Japanese back into internment camps. People with HIV should not be discriminated againt, they should be allowed to live there lives the way anyone else does.

  21. This comment has been reported to the site manager. It will be reviewed and removed if inappropriate. Thank you!

  22. Mon., Apr. 28, 2008 2:10 PM    link Pietr K. | New York, NY

    People of the Congress

    What a shame for us , Americans, to carry on our borders such an humiliating ban. We, the land of the free, stigmatize and reject people, getting us to the level of many countries which do not share our values of liberty , freedom and democracy.

    Is with these laws, that I feel ashamed to be american. I miss my country, I miss what the Founding Fathers conceived. If my taxes are put to the service of such a Machiavellian Law, then everything we stand for, are just words. Empty words. Without real value.

    I cannot help but think of how many smart individuals, cannot come to our wonderful nation , to share their ideas , and witness the sophisticated New-York City, the sunny Florida, or the marvelous Rocky Mountains.

    The fear of those poor man and Women in the border, when coming to our country, can only be related to the feeling of those who , like my Grandparents, ran from the Nazi Germany.

    PLEASE, REPEAL THAT BAN. HIV IS ANOTHER ILLNESS. JUST THAT. IT DOESN"T MAKE PEOPLE LESS PEOPLE. IT DOESN'T ENDANGER AMERICA

  23. This comment has been reported to the site manager. It will be reviewed and removed if inappropriate. Thank you!

  24. Mon., Apr. 28, 2008 2:04 PM    link Pietr K. | New York, NY

    People of the Congress

    What a shame for us , Americans, to carry on our borders such an humiliating ban. We, the land of the free, stigmatize and reject people, getting us to the level of many countries which do not share our values of liberty , freedom and democracy.

    Is with these laws, that I feel ashamed to be american. I miss my country, I miss what the Founding Fathers conceived. If my taxes are put to the service of such a Machiavellian Law, then everything we stand for, are just words. Empty words. Without real value.

    I cannot help but think of how many smart individuals, cannot come to our wonderful nation , to share their ideas , and witness the sophisticated New-York City, the sunny Florida, or the marvelous Rocky Mountains.

    The fear of those poor man and Women in the border, when coming to our country, can only be related to the feeling of those who , like my Grandparents, ran from the Nazi Germany.

    PLEASE, REPEAL THAT BAN. HIV IS ANOTHER ILLNESS. JUST THAT. IT DOESN"T MAKE PEOPLE LESS PEOPLE. IT DOESN'T ENDANGER AMERICA

  25. This comment has been reported to the site manager. It will be reviewed and removed if inappropriate. Thank you!

  26. Sun., Mar. 30, 2008 6:36 PM    link Robert T. | Bellevue, WA

View More Petition Signers and Comments

Frequently Asked Questions | Printer friendly .pdf

Petition created by Campaign to End HIV Travel Ban

Powered by Rally Congress    Have questions or feedback?