[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3337 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3337

    To remove from the Immigration and Nationality Act a provision 
rendering individuals having HIV inadmissible to the United States, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 2, 2007

 Ms. Lee (for herself, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Waxman, Mrs. Christensen, Ms. 
   Norton, Ms. McCollum of Minnesota, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Fattah, Mr. 
 Kucinich, Mr. Berman, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Hastings of Florida, 
Mr. Blumenauer, Ms. Solis, and Mr. Rush) introduced the following bill; 
          which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To remove from the Immigration and Nationality Act a provision 
rendering individuals having HIV inadmissible to the United States, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``HIV Nondiscrimination in Travel and 
Immigration Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Under current immigration law and policy, infection 
        with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is grounds for 
        barring prospective immigrants, foreign students, refugees, and 
        tourists from entry into the United States. Applicants for 
        temporary admission as nonimmigrants, such as tourists and 
        foreign students, are required to disclose their HIV status 
        when applying for a visa and, if questioned, may be required to 
        undergo an HIV test. Applicants for permanent residence and 
        refugee status must be tested for HIV infection. Waivers may be 
        issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security on a case-by-case 
        basis only to--
                    (A) HIV-positive individuals applying for permanent 
                admission as immigrants who are the parents, spouse, 
                unmarried son or daughter, or minor adopted child of 
                either a United States citizen or a permanent resident, 
                or are refugees or asylees adjusting to immigrant 
                status and who can establish that--
                            (i) the danger to the public health of the 
                        United States created by the applicant's 
                        admission would be minimal;
                            (ii) the possibility of the spread of the 
                        infection created by the applicant's admission 
                        would be minimal; and
                            (iii) there would be no cost incurred by 
                        any level of government agency of the United 
                        States without the prior consent of that 
                        agency;
                    (B) HIV-positive individuals applying for admission 
                as refugees for humanitarian purposes, to assure family 
                unity, or when it is otherwise in the public interest 
                who also meet the requirements in clauses (i) and (ii) 
                of subparagraph (A); or
                    (C) HIV-positive individuals applying for short-
                term nonimmigrant visas, including--
                            (i) tourists for up to 30 days, who also 
                        meet the requirements in clauses (i) through 
                        (iii) of subparagraph (A); or
                            (ii) participants in certain designated 
                        events such as conferences or international 
                        sports events for up to 10 days.
            (2) The HIV travel and immigration ban was originally 
        implemented in 1987 by regulations issued through the Public 
        Health Service of the Department of Health and Human Services 
        and required HIV screening for all persons over 14 years of age 
        applying for immigrant and nonimmigrant visas.
            (3) The Immigration Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-649) 
        authorized the Secretary of Health and Human Services to decide 
        which diseases should be considered as grounds for excluding 
        noncitizens from entering the United States based on a 
        determination that such diseases were ``communicable diseases 
        of public health significance''.
            (4) In 1991, the Department of Health and Human Services 
        conducted a public health analysis and proposed ending the HIV 
        travel and immigration ban by delisting HIV as a communicable 
        disease of public health significance. The proposal was 
        eventually dropped due to opposition from the Congress.
            (5) In 1993, as part of the National Institutes of Health 
        Revitalization Act (Public Law 103-43), the Congress revoked 
        the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 
        make a public health determination regarding HIV status as 
        grounds for inadmissibility for potential foreign students, 
        tourists, refugees, and immigrants to the United States by 
        specifically including ``infection with the etiologic agent for 
        acquired immune deficiency syndrome'' as a ``communicable 
        disease of public health significance'' under the statute.
            (6) HIV/AIDS is the only condition permanently listed by 
        statute as a communicable disease of public health 
        significance. In contrast, the Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services has the authority to add or remove all other diseases 
        on the communicable disease list.
            (7) The United States is one of 13 countries that maintain 
        by law both a travel and immigration ban for persons with HIV, 
        including Armenia, Brunei, China, Iraq, Qatar, South Korea, 
        Libya, Moldova, Oman, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, and 
        Sudan.
            (8) The HIV travel and immigration ban impacts thousands of 
        prospective HIV-positive foreign students, tourists, refugees 
        and immigrants who may be denied entry into the United States 
        due solely to their HIV status.
            (9) In some cases the HIV travel and immigration ban may 
        discourage foreign students, refugees, and nonpermanent 
        residents who are already in the United States and who may be 
        at risk of infection from seeking testing, treatment or care 
        for HIV/AIDS.
            (10) The United Nations, including the Joint United Nations 
        Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health 
        Organization, oppose any restrictions on travel and immigration 
        for people living with HIV/AIDS. Travel and immigration 
        restrictions based on a public health or economic cost 
        rationale are addressed in the United Nation's ``International 
        Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, 2006 Consolidated 
        Version'', produced jointly by the Office of the United Nations 
        High Commissioner for Human Rights and UNAIDS, which state the 
        following: ``There is no public health rationale for 
        restricting liberty of movement or choice of residence on the 
        grounds of HIV status. According to current international 
        health regulations, the only disease which requires a 
        certificate for international travel is yellow fever. 
        Therefore, any restrictions on these rights based on suspected 
        or real HIV status alone, including HIV screening of 
        international travelers, are discriminatory and cannot be 
        justified by public health concerns''.
            (11) Such guidelines also state the following: ``Where 
        States prohibit people living with HIV from longer term 
        residency due to concerns about economic costs, States should 
        not single out HIV/AIDS, as opposed to comparable conditions, 
        for such treatment and should establish that such costs would 
        indeed be incurred in the case of the individual alien seeking 
        residency. In considering entry applications, humanitarian 
        concerns, such as family reunification and the need for asylum, 
        should outweigh economic considerations.''.
            (12) On World AIDS Day, December 1, 2006, the President 
        proposed streamlining the current waiver process for HIV-
        positive individuals seeking to enter the United States on 
        short-term business or tourist visas for up to 60 days by 
        granting them a ``categorical waiver''. If implemented, the 
        President's proposal would only affect the waiver process for 
        short-term visitors, and would not affect HIV-positive 
        individuals seeking permanent residence or nontourist visas.
            (13) 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.
            (14) The Secretary of Health and Human Services should have 
        the authority to determine which diseases should be included on 
        the list of communicable diseases of public health 
        significance, and infection with HIV should not be required by 
        law to be included on such a list.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT.

    Section 212(a)(1)(A)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1182(a)(1)(A)(i)) is amended by striking ``which shall include 
infection with the etiologic agent for acquired immune deficiency 
syndrome,''.

SEC. 4. REVIEW OF TRAVEL AND IMMIGRATION REGULATIONS REGARDING HIV.

    (a) Review.--Not later than 15 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall convene a 
panel of public health experts, including non-governmental experts, to 
review all policies regarding HIV as a ``communicable disease of public 
health significance'' under section 212(a)(1)(A)(i) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182 (a)(1)(A)(i)) and which shall 
include--
            (1) the results of the last analysis of the policy 
        conducted by the Public Health Service; and
            (2) a 30-day public comment period initiated after 
        sufficient public notice in the Federal Register.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 90 days after initiating the review 
required under subsection (a), the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
shall make a determination regarding the continued listing of HIV as a 
``communicable disease of public health significance'' under section 
212(a)(1)(A)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1182(a)(1)(A)(i)) and shall provide a report to the Congress, and make 
available to the public, the results of such review, including--
            (1) the determination reached by the review process;
            (2) the rationale for the determination;
            (3) the anticipated public health impact of the 
        determination in relation to other communicable diseases;
            (4) the estimated costs of implementing the determination;
            (5) the names and affiliations of members of the review 
        panel; and
            (6) a brief summary of the public comments.
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