hunter of justice

Elimination of ban on HIV+ travelers entering US may come very soon

Pink News is reporting that -

A memo has been released by the United States Customs and Immigrations Service which suggests the year-long wait for the HIV travel ban may be nearly over. The CIS's communication instructed employees working on green card applications that would be determined solely by the applicant's HIV status to wait until the expected change in immigration rules.

Currently HIV qualifies as an exclusionary communicable disease, and applications may be turned down by the US authorities if a person wishing to travel to the country, or settle there permanently, is HIV positive.

The policy was overturned [legislatively] last year ..., but the Bush administration did not enact the [necessary] new rules before leaving office. [HHS] published [proposed] regulations this summer, and is currently reviewing public comment.

Commentators have suggested that the pausing of green card applications which come down to the applicant's HIV status is a strong indicator that the rule change will be implemented soon, and that HIV will be removed from the list of exclusionary communicable diseases.

Background here.

Gay partner issue rattles immigration reform efforts

The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing today on the Uniting American Families Act (S. 424), legislation that would allow non-U.S. permanent partners in a same-sex couple to receive basically the same treatment under law as opposite-sex partners of American citizens. UAFA sidesteps the issue of marriage and the barrier of DoMA by redefining the term "family member." It leaves the DoMA definitions of "marriage" and "spouse" in place.

Meanwhile, other bills to reform current law to allow more generous immigration of family members, initiatives on which faith communities have long been leaders, are proceeding on a separate track. According to this analysis from Politico, the two efforts are on a collision course:

Advocates for gays and immigrants are clashing over a proposed immigration bill that would let gay and lesbian Americans sponsor their immigrant “permanent partners” for legal U.S. residency. The chasm inside the immigrant rights community has led the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops — a major partner in the drive for expanded immigrant rights — to withdraw its support from a House bill to be filed Thursday that would speed up reunification of immigrants with their families.

Including the same-sex provision in the family reunification bill “would erode the institution of marriage and family by according marriagelike immigration benefits to same-sex relationships, a position that is contrary to the very nature of marriage, which pre-dates the church and the state,” the bishops said in a letter to Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.). “The last thing the immigration debate needs is another politically divisive issue,” said Kevin Appleby, the bishops’ director of migration and refugee policy.

Another major ally, the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, head of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, called the efforts to slip gay rights into the immigration debate a “slap in the face to those of us who have fought for years for immigration reform.” Rodriguez, who has worked with evangelical churches to build support for a broader immigration bill that would expand visa laws, said that if the same-sex language stays in, it will “divide the very broad and strong coalition that we have built on behalf of comprehensive immigration reform.”

But backers of same-sex couples contend “permanent partners” — two adults in an intimate and financially interdependent relationship — should be given equal rights under immigration law.  Too often, gay and lesbian rights issues “are easily discarded as part of the [legislative] process,” and that needs to change, said Honda, the House sponsor of the bill and a longtime advocate for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. “It’s too big of an issue to me for it to be treated this way.”

The split comes just days before President Barack Obama is scheduled to hold his first White House discussion on comprehensive immigration legislation. Also, today is the formal kickoff of the national Reform Immigration for America campaign — comprising labor, business, civil rights, immigrant rights and religious groups — to win congressional passage of a comprehensive immigration measure.

While gay rights and immigration law reforms have fit under the civil rights advocacy banner, churches have long been sanctuaries for immigrants and leaders in the battle for expanded visas and legal protections. ...

European Parliament uses soft law approach to some sex/o issues - Updated

The European Parliament has adopted a Report on the Situation of Fundamental Rights in the EU that urges member states to recognize same-sex unions that are valid in the countries where the status was granted and to grant asylum to persons fleeing persecution based on sexual orientation. However, it does not have the force of law.

Complied by the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, it contains recommendations on issues such as poverty, homelessness, xenophobia, the treatment of Roma people and the application of anti-discrimination laws throughout the EU. It was approved on January 14 by 401 votes in favor, 220 against and 67 abstentions.

In the section addressing sexual orientation issues, the report:

72. Takes the view that discriminatory comments against homosexuals by social and political leaders fuel hatred and violence, and calls on the relevant governing bodies to condemn them;

73. Welcomes the publication of the first thematic report by the Fundamental Rights Agency, drawn up at Parliament’s request, on Homophobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in the EU Member States and asks to Member States and EU institutions to urgently follow the Agency's recommendations or state their reasons for not doing so;

74. Reminds all Member States that, in line with European Court of Human Rights case-law, freedom of assembly may be exercised even if the opinions of those exercising that right go against the majority, and that, accordingly, a discriminatory ban on marches and any failure to meet the requirement to give appropriate protection to those taking part breach the principles guaranteed by the European Court of Human Rights, by Article 6 of the EU Treaty on common EU values and principles, and by the Charter;

75. Calls on those Member States who have adopted legislation on same-sex partnerships to recognise provisions with similar effects adopted by other Member States; calls on those Member States to propose guidelines for mutual recognition of existing legislation between Member States in order to guarantee that the right of free movement within the European Union for same-sex couples applies under conditions equal to those applicable to heterosexual couples;

76. Urges the Commission to submit proposals ensuring that Member States apply the principle of mutual recognition for homosexual couples, whether they are married or living in a registered civil partnership, in particular when they are exercising their right to free movement under EU law;

77. Calls on those Member States who have not yet done so, and in application of the principle of equality, to take legislative action to overcome the discrimination experienced by some couples on the grounds of their sexual orientation;

78. Calls on the Commission to make sure that Member States grant asylum to persons fleeing from persecution on the grounds of their sexual orientation in their country of origin, to take initiatives at the bilateral and multilateral level to stop the persecutions of persons on the basis of their sexual orientation, and to launch a study on the situation of trans-sexual people in the Member States and candidate countries, with regard inter alia to the risk of harassment and violence.

Source:  Pink News 

UPDATE: The Alliance Defense Fund submitted a legal memorandum to the European Parliament urging members to reject this report.  It's another sign of the extent to which ADF is expanding its operations beyond U.S. borders.