A Houston Chronicle editorial praises President Barack Obama's reversal last week of a longstanding policy allowing immigration officials to refuse entry to HIV/AIDS patients. The ban ends in January and new rules in the Federal Register were published this week. Here's an excerpt from the editorial:

The United States has long been a resolute, generous leader in the international struggle to eliminate AIDS, but for the past 22 years it has also been one of a handful of countries to refuse entry to HIV-positive visitors, both tourists and those seeking to become legal residents.

But last week, as he prepared to sign a bill reauthorizing funds for HIV/AIDS programs, President Barack Obama announced an end to the ban, calling it a policy "rooted in fear rather than fact."

It was a sound and welcome decision, eliminating a discriminatory roadblock that has been in place far too long without any scientific justification.

Both at home and abroad, health experts have long pointed out the discrepancy between this country's commitment to eradicating AIDS worldwide and its discriminatory immigration policy, which serves only to reinforce pejorative stereotypes and gives other nations license to follow suit.

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