Trump Admin Defunds HIV Research Again to Detain More Immigrants

A letter obtained by Yahoo from Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar outlines a plan to reallocate $80 million of funding from refugee support programs to detaining more immigrant children. As of earlier this month, the number of detained immigrant children in the US reached a record high of 12,800.

Related | Donald Trump Terminated All Remaining Members of the HIV/AIDS Council

In the new plan to reallocate funds, a total of $266 million will be shifted from other programs to cover the costs. One of those programs is the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program, which will be defunded by $5.7 million. According to The Hill, the program has already been defunded by $17 million this year.

It's the latest move against AIDS research, with the Trump administration having fired the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS last year.