[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2486 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2486

  To remove a provision from the Immigration and Nationality Act that 
  prohibits individuals with HIV from being admissible to the United 
                    States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 14, 2007

   Mr. Kerry (for himself, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Durbin) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To remove a provision from the Immigration and Nationality Act that 
  prohibits individuals with HIV from being admissible 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.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Under Federal immigration law, prospective immigrants, 
        foreign students, refugees, and tourists who are infected with 
        the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) are prohibited from 
        entering the United States. Applicants for permanent residence 
        and refugee status are required to be tested for HIV infection.
            (2) Applicants for temporary admission as nonimmigrants, 
        such as tourists and foreign students, are required to disclose 
        their HIV status when applying for a visa. If questioned, such 
        applicants may be required to undergo an HIV test.
            (3) The Secretary of Homeland Security may issue a waiver 
        to the HIV prohibition, on a case-by-case basis, only to any 
        HIV-positive individual who--
                    (A)(i) applies for permanent admission as an 
                immigrant;
                    (ii) is the parent, spouse, unmarried son or 
                daughter, or minor adopted child of a United States 
                citizen or a permanent resident, or a refugee or asylee 
                adjusting to immigrant status; and
                    (iii) 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)(i) applies for admission as a refugee;
                    (ii) is eligible for admission for humanitarian 
                purposes or to assure family unity, or whose admission 
                is otherwise in the public interest; and
                    (iii) meets the requirements described in 
                subclauses (I) and (II) of subparagraph (A)(iii); or
                    (C) applies for a short-term nonimmigrant visa, 
                including--
                            (i) a tourist who meets the requirements 
                        described in subclauses (I) through (III) of 
                        subparagraph (A)(iii) and intends to remain in 
                        the United States for less than 30 days; and
                            (ii) a participant in a designated event, 
                        such as a conference or international sporting 
                        event and intends to remain in the United 
                        States for less than 10 days.
            (4) The travel and immigration ban on HIV-positive 
        individuals--
                    (A) was implemented in 1987 by regulations issued 
                through the Public Health Service of the Department of 
                Health and Human Services; and
                    (B) requires HIV screening for all persons over 14 
                years of age who apply for an immigrant or nonimmigrant 
                visa.
            (5) Section 212(a)(1)(A)(i) of the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(1)(A)(i)) authorizes the 
        Secretary of Health and Human Services to prescribe regulations 
        to determine which diseases are considered ``communicable 
        diseases of public health significance'' that would exclude 
        noncitizens with such diseases from entering the United States.
            (6) In 1991, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
        after conducting a public health analysis, proposed ending the 
        HIV travel and immigration ban by removing HIV from the list of 
        communicable diseases of public health significance. The 
        proposal was eventually dropped due to opposition from the 
        Congress.
            (7) In 1993, 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 
        designating ``infection with the etiologic agent for acquired 
        immune deficiency syndrome'' as a communicable disease of 
        public health significance under section 212(a)(1)(A)(i) of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act.
            (8) The United States is 1 of 13 countries with a law that 
        bans travel and immigration for persons with HIV. The other 
        countries are Armenia, Brunei, China, Iraq, Qatar, South Korea, 
        Libya, Moldova, Oman, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, and 
        Sudan.
            (9) 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.
            (10) The HIV travel and immigration ban may discourage some 
        foreign students, refugees, and nonpermanent residents who are 
        in the United States and who may be at risk of infection from 
        seeking testing, treatment, or care for HIV/AIDS.
            (11) The United Nations, 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. The 2006 Consolidated Version of the United 
        Nation's International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, 
        produced jointly by the Office of the United Nations High 
        Commissioner for Human Rights and UNAIDS, states ``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 travellers, are discriminatory and cannot be 
        justified by public health concerns. . . . 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.

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

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

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 nongovernmental 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)), including--
            (1) the results of the last analysis of the policy 
        conducted by the Public Health Service; and
            (2) a 60-day public comment period initiated after 
        sufficient public notice in the Federal Register.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 90 days after initiating the review 
under subsection (a), the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall--
            (1) 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 such Act;
            (2) submit a report to Congress containing the results of 
        such review, including--
                    (A) the determination reached by the review 
                process;
                    (B) the rationale for the determination;
                    (C) the anticipated public health impact of the 
                determination in relation to other communicable 
                diseases;
                    (D) the estimated costs of implementing the 
                determination;
                    (E) the names and affiliations of members of the 
                review panel; and
                    (F) a brief summary of the public comments; and
            (3) make the report described in paragraph (2) available to 
        the public.
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