Thread: Immigrants prone to AIDS after U.S. residence

Immigrants prone to AIDS after U.S. residence
The Daily Texan (U. of Texas at Austin) : October 1 , 2007 -- by Christopher Crawford
http://numbersusa.com/news?ID=8885

"All of this propaganda that we're hearing about people coming into the country with HIV and the laws that we need to keep people with AIDS out, when you actually look at what's going on, these cases are cases of immigrants who have been infected since they've been in the U.S.," Shedlin said.
While opponents of illegal immigration voice concern over undocumented workers bringing infectious diseases into the U.S., a researcher from University of Texas at El Paso found Hispanic immigrants are at increased risk of contracting HIV while living in the U.S. and are unlikely to seek treatment for the disease.

Michele G. Shedlin, professor in the College of Health Sciences at UT-El Paso, presented the results of her study at a seminar sponsored by the Population Research Center at Burdine Hall on Friday.

"All of this propaganda that we're hearing about people coming into the country with HIV and the laws that we need to keep people with AIDS out, when you actually look at what's going on, these cases are cases of immigrants who have been infected since they've been in the U.S.," Shedlin said.

She found undocumented workers, often hesitant to seek treatment for illness, face inadequate health care services and health care workers ill-equipped to deal with issues such as language differences.

With much of the debate over illegal immigration focused on the U.S.-Mexico border, Shedlin said her research aimed to understand how differences in nationality influenced risky sexual behavior, and how these groups varied in the extent and quality of the health services they received.

The study, funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, looked at recent undocumented workers from El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and the Dominican Republic who settled in New York City and surrounding counties.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2005 that Hispanics accounted for 19 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS, though Hispanics comprise 13 percent of the population, according to census data. Shedlin stressed that census-based estimates of the Hispanic population are considered under-counts due to the large numbers of undocumented immigrants.

Contributing to the increased risk of HIV infection among undocumented workers are cases of sexual slavery linked to the human trafficking of immigrants. In August, the Daily Texan reported that police arrested two Austin men for alleged connections to prostitution rings involving immigrants.

In August, APD Commander Duane McNeil told the Daily Texan that the women were forced into sexual slavery when they were unable to pay the cost of transportation across the U.S.-Mexico border.

The study found widespread hiring of sex workers among new male immigrants, inconsistent condom use, and increased instances of drug and alcohol abuse. Compounding the problem, Shedlin said, is that male workers who share the same living quarters also frequently share the same sex worker.

I would be very interested to know if and how these people were able to test illegal aliens BEFORE they entered the US ?????

W

No one knows if they got AIDS before or after, since they weren't checked!

And, it doesn't really matter - with their risky behavior, they're just helping to spread it around in the U.S., no matter where they originally contracted it.

Boy - some people who try to defend this whole illegal immigration crap are really stupid.

I just got off the phone with Dr. Shedlin. She said that here study took no blood samples at all in their research and that they were not looking at illegal aliens or as she would call them 'undocumented community residents'

This article is almost a complete fabrication.

William

I have reported this to the editor of that student paper. Let's see if they do a retraction.

W

Not only all the aforementioned, but...

Shedlin stressed that census-based estimates of the Hispanic population are considered under-counts due to the large numbers of undocumented immigrants

...She's also a closet demographer as well.

Regardless of when they were infected, the behaviors illegals engage in make them high risk for spreading HIV/AIDS in the US.

Dr. Shedlin was very nice on the phone and quickly pointed out what her study was about. It appears that this is not the first time someone in the press has twisted her research.

I e-mailed her the biased article and she wrote me back saying "Many thanks for your vigilence"

W

Originally Posted by NoIllegalsAllowed

Regardless of when they were infected, the behaviors illegals engage in make them high risk for spreading HIV/AIDS in the US.

Yes, especially since they bypassed the medical screenings that LEGAL immigrants are required by law to have.

W

Ah, ok - that helps put a complete context around what took place here.

I'm glad (in reference to my post above) that, in fact, she too, recognizes the true scope of the illegal immigration problem (eg. goes under-reported by government, mass media) - so let me append my comments to thank her for her honest recognition of the problem.