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AIDS Among Latinos on Rise
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Even after her boyfriend died four months later, Vargas postponed having an HIV test, afraid that authorities would find her.
Such late testing is common -- and of great concern to health officials, said the CDC's Dominguez, because delays mean earlier death and increased spread of the virus.
Vargas, it turned out, was HIV-positive.
"As immigrants, many times we lose our identity when we cross the border," said De La O. He worries that harsh policies toward HIV-positive immigrants create "another underground in which people cannot access treatment but will not leave the country."
Mauro Ruiz is one of them.
Now fluent in English and having advanced to shift supervisor at the restaurant where he works, he is hoping for the law to change. Until then, he keeps to the shadows of society.
"If I'm able to work, I can stay here," he said. "But if not, I will have to go back to Mexico and I will die."
This report was supported by the Project for International Health Journalism Fellowship, a part of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation's Media Fellowships Program.
