Subject: AIDS Panel Seeks Review Of U. S. Immigration Policy
Date: Published: 12/13/89 (37 lines)
Source:  Wall Street Journal.  Copyright Dow Jones & Co. Inc. 

    AIDS Panel Seeks Review
    Of U. S. Immigration Policy

    WASHINGTON -- The National Commission on AIDS charged that
 U. S. immigration procedures discriminate against foreign
 visitors infected with the AIDS virus and asked for a review
 of current policies.
    HIV infection, which causes acquired immune deficiency
 syndrome, is classified as a dangerous and contagious
 disease, and people carrying the virus can be excluded from
 the U. S. on public-health grounds.  The commission, noting
 that AIDS can't be spread through casual social contact,
 asked the government to review this classification.
    In addition, the panel asked the Immigration and
 Naturalization Service to stop questioning people seeking
 visas to enter the U. S. about their HIV status and putting
 special stamps on the passports of HIV-infected visitors who
 are allowed to enter the U. S. 
    "There is no public-health justification for current
 polices, they fly in the face of strong international opinion
 and practice, they lead to unconscionable infringement of
 human rights and dignity, and they reinforce a false
 impression that AIDS and HIV infection are a general threat
 when in fact they are sharply restricted in their mode of
 transmission," said June Osborn, the chairman of the AIDS
 commission.
    The panel was established by Congress to make
 recommendations about the nation's AIDS policies.

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