 Share
|
« Previous Daily-dish | Next Daily-dish » |
Email
Print
|
Bush and HIV-Positive Foreigners
ByAs China prepares to lift its ban on visitors with HIV, the Bush administration actually tightens the rules for visa waivers for HIV-positive non-Americans, to make it even more onerous for them if they decide to risk it and visit the US:
On World AIDS Day last year, President Bush announced his intention to create a streamlined process for foreign travelers with HIV to enter the United States more easily. Currently the United States is one of only 13 countries in the world, including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan, which ban travel for individuals who are HIV-positive. Now, almost a year later, DHS has proposed regulations which would make it even harder to get a short-term waiver.
I just don't understand this. The Bush administration has done a lot for foreigners with HIV, but continuing a Jesse Helms-initiated ban on even visits from foreigners with HIV is furthering the stigmatization of the HIV-positive population. Does Jenna Bush realize that the woman she wrote her book about is barred from even entering the US? Do we we really want to be more hostile to people with HIV than China?
