Inadmissible no longer - TAKE ACTION to ensure the ban is lifted

Congress Ends Two Decades of HIV Discrimination and Emboldens Global Fight Against HIV/AIDS

TAKE ACTION! By a vote of 303-115, the U.S. House of Representatives passed yesterday the Senate version of the Lantos-Hyde U.S. Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2008. The historic bill extends the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief for another five-year period and authorizes up to $48 billion to fight HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria in the developing world. In a significant move against HIV discrimination, the bill also ends the 22-year prohibition against HIV-positive immigrants or visitors lawfully entering the U.S.

Once the bill is signed into law by President George W. Bush, likely next week, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt will need to officially remove HIV from the list of inadmissible health conditions. Without such a determination, the immigrant and entry ban will effectively remain in force.

Click here to send a message to President Bush telling him to sign the bill and lift the ban.

The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (IRMA's Secretariat) thanks members of Congress and President Bush for enacting this compassionate and stigma-ending piece of legislation. AFC also urges the president and Secretary Leavitt to lift the ban without delay.