(New York, NY, September 25, 2024) — GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, in collaboration with the Alabama Latino Access Center, a division of AIDS Alabama that connects Latinos living with HIV/AIDS to critical medical care in the state, is responding to inaccurate statements made by Alabama Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth.
Ainsworth falsely linked, without evidence, a federal immigration program to a “spike” in Alabama’s HIV infection rates: Data from the Alabama Department of Health show no significant increase in new infections over the past few years, nor does it show a link to programs that allow immigrants to live and work in Alabama.
Ainsworth shared a letter addressed to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on September 17, 2024, calling for an end to the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela (CHNV) Federal Parole Program, accusing CHNV of creating an “environment conducive to chaos, crime, and the drain of national resources.”
Senator Ainsworth further fueled recent baseless attacks by Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) against immigrants, especially those of Haitian descent, stating that “HIV infection rates are skyrocketing” without providing any statistical data, and enumerating grievances related to legal immigration through CHNV. Ainsworth also argues that CHNV allows immigrants to “unfairly compete for housing and employment in the state.” Beginning in 2023, CHNV allows certain people from the four countries included in the program who have a sponsor in the United States and pass a background check to enter the country to live and work legally for two years.
Ainsworth claims that HIV infection rates in Alabama have “skyrocketed” since CHNV implementation, which is completely false. Quarterly HIV data from the Alabama State Department of Health shows no significant increase in new cases over the past few years. The latest data for Q2 2024 (January-June) shows 245 new HIV cases diagnosed in Alabama. HIV remains a health crisis in Black communities, especially in the South, where high rates of poverty, HIV-related stigma, and sexually transmitted infections contribute to the epidemic. According to the CDC, in 2021, Black/African-Americans ages 13 and older made up about 12% of the U.S. population but accounted for 40% of HIV cases. Hispanic Americans accounted for almost 30% of all HIV cases in 2019.
Ainsworth has promoted false claims about immigrants and HIV infection in Alabama, but his comments reflect growing anti-immigrant sentiment in the state, including a recent incident in which a Sylacauga city council meeting was adjourned after just 20 minutes after an angry speaker demanded details about a housing development rumored to be used by Haitian immigrants.
Statement from Jean Hernandez, Latino Program Coordinator, Alabama Latino Access Center:
“Inaccurate information reinforces stigma about HIV, creates mistrust, exacerbates health disparities and further entrenches discrimination against immigrants and people with HIV. To view immigrants as a drain on resources overlooks their significant contributions and the mutual benefits they bring. Focusing on immigrants not only oversimplifies the issue, but it overlooks their many valuable contributions to our communities, including enriching our state’s culture and economy as both workers and entrepreneurs and generating millions of dollars in business and tax revenue. Embracing their role in our society not only strengthens our economy, but enriches our collective experience as Alabamians.”
Statement from GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis (she/her):
“As Lieutenant Governor of Alabama, Ainsworth has a responsibility to serve all Alabamians and recognize that every single one of our state’s residents deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their HIV status or immigration status. Ainsworth and other elected officials should at the very least be expected to lead with facts, especially when state officials are following national leaders in spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories instead of truth, further stigmatizing and harming the lives of two of our state’s most marginalized groups: people of color and those with HIV. HIV is preventable and treatable to undetectable, or untransmittable, levels, and people with HIV can live long, healthy lives. Ainsworth and his colleagues would do well to work to be the solution to end HIV, rather than spreading disinformation that exacerbates the fight to end the HIV epidemic.”
On September 12, 2024, GLAAD released its fifth annual State of HIV Stigma Report, the only report ever to track Americans’ knowledge, attitudes, and feelings about HIV and HIV stigma.
Key findings:
The belief that stigma around HIV still exists has decreased significantly over the five-year period, from 89% in 2020 to 85% in 2024. Knowledge about HIV has remained stable, with almost 90% of Americans reporting they know a little about HIV, and half of Americans feeling knowledgeable. Gen Z continues to be among the generations with the least knowledge about HIV. Only 37% of Gen Z adults are knowledgeable about HIV, the same level as five years ago. Over the past five years of follow-up, there have been declines in the following areas: The belief that everyone should be tested for HIV has decreased significantly, from 77% in 2020 to 67% in 2024. This decrease is seen in all regions of the country. The belief that people living with HIV can live long and healthy lives has decreased significantly, from 90% in 2020 to 85% in 2024. People living with HIV are not often represented in the media. According to GLAAD’s “Where We Are on TV” study, there was just one LGBTQ character playing an HIV-positive person in primetime scripted broadcast, cable and streaming shows in the most recent television season, and that character is not expected to return. Americans who have seen someone with HIV on TV or in a movie are declining from 39% in 2023 to 35% in 2024. Seeing stories about people with HIV increases people’s comfort with HIV in various parts of their life by up to 15%.
About AIDS in Alabama:
Since 1986, AIDS Alabama has provided HIV prevention education to the medical community. We directly manage over 100 affordable housing units across the state and are committed to keeping residents healthy. We provide culturally sensitive and LGBTQ-friendly services through our health and wellness programs.
