AIDS and immigration

Though more than 76,000 Americans have died of AIDS, President George Bush waited until last month to call his first major press conference on the subject. His message — the same one he has delivered for the last six months — is that the nation must display compassion and end discrimination against those afflicted with the syndrome.

His words are encouraging, but the hope ends there. Three years after Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., included a discriminatory provision to U.S. immigration laws concerning AIDS sufferers, Bush has just recently suggested that the law be changed.

Since the early 1950s, the United States has required that people requesting an entry visa to declare whether they are infected with contagious diseases. In 1987, Helms introduced a measure to add AIDS to the disease list, but the request for the declaration has not been uniformly applied and is not required of travelers coming from countries that do not require a visa. If travelers do admit to having AIDS, they must apply for a special waiver and have their passports stamped to indicate their disease. The immigration law is a cruel impediment for those who look to the United States for treatment and counseling to combat this deadly affliction.

The White House has raised funding for AIDS research and treatment to $3.5 billion, but offers no new programs. A proposal by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., that would treat cities whose citizens have been affected by AIDS as disaster areas deserves serious consideration. Considering the number of deaths and the enormous costs brought on by AIDS, why shouldn’t those cities qualify for disaster relief?

Somewhere between the hysterical fear of mass epidemic and the assumption that AIDS is a problem only for gay men, resides an accurate picture of the pervasiveness of AIDS. Bush’s call for compassion may help focus on the debilitating force that AIDS has had on thousands of families across the country and the cost of treating the disease, but that isn’t enough.

If the federal government feels it can do no more to support AIDS research, Bush could at least ensure that it stops hindering the research. Several scientists from around the world have threatened to boycott the sixth annual International Conference on AIDS scheduled for June in San Francisco, unless the Helms immigration amendment is revoked. French Health Minister Clause Evin called the law “a profoundly shocking policy, especially in light of America’s well-publicized belief in freedom and respect for human rights.”

The opportunity to encourage researchers to further their work in treatment of AIDS should be a primary concern of the United States. Punitive and unfair immigration laws, which slow the pursuit of that work, will only prolong the suffering.