Bush Signs President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Legislation (tags)
President Bush signed the President’s Emergency Program (PEPFAR) into law yesterday at the White House.The landmark bill, which passed in both the House and Senate by wide margins earlier this month, provides $48 billion over the next five years for the global fight of AIDS. Within the legislation is a directive to lift the HIV travel/immigration ban, which bars foreign travelers with HIV/AIDS from entering the United States unless they obtain a spouse or family waiver. That ban is blatantly discriminatory, particularly against gay men and lesbians with the illness, because under current US immigration law, their partners do not qualify as spouses or family.
Bolante wants US to give him asylum (tags)
Former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante has sought political asylum in the US, where he has been detained after US immigration canceled his visa last week. A source in the Department of Foreign Affairs said Bolante asked for asylum about 1 a.m. on Thursday, Manila time. The information jibes with the report of the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) that Bolante’s lawyer in Los Angeles confirmed he had requested asylum.