Mail Count: HIV Travel/Immigration Ban

The following information was provided by the Division of Quarantine, U. S Centers for Disease control, Atlanta, Georgia. These counts are for the 60-day public comment period which ended August 2, 1991. Letters and postcards are counted together.

Total letters received: 118,468. Of these, 117,902 were from individuals, 488 from U. S. organizations, and 78 from international organizations.

Of the 117,902 from individuals, 103,573 (representing 108,065 signatures) were from persons opposed to having HIV on the list to exclude persons from the United States. On the other side, 14,329 letters (representing 17,833 signatures) wanted HIV on the list.

Of the 488 U. S. organizations, 472 disagreed with having HIV on the list; 16 wanted HIV on the list.

Of the 78 international organizations, all 78 disagreed with having HIV on the list.

Percentages: 87.8 percent of the letters from individuals (85.8 percent of individual signers) opposed having HIV on the list of excludable conditions. Of the U. S. organizations, over 97 percent were opposed. Of the international organizations, 100 percent were opposed.