In the next few weeks, Congress could – finally, some would say – abolish a 1987 law banning immigrants who are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, from coming to the United States. Under the rule, called the Helms Amendment, HIV is the only disease that necessarily excludes an immigrant from entrance into the country. Any other “communicable disease of public health significance,” such as leprosy or tuberculosis, is left to the discretion of the federal Department of Health and Human Services. Read the rest of this entry »