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The international movement of people is provoking worldwide anxiety and apprehension. Nation-states around the globe, especially Western ones, are cracking down on migration for security reasons. International migration has become a key security issue and is perceived, by some, as an existential security threat. The Securitization of Migration is about the movement of people and the system of order underpinning the movement. In undertaking a comparative study of Canada and France, the study analyzes the process of securitizing migration. It explores the process of discursively and institutionally integrating international migration into security frameworks that emphasize policing and defence. Drawing upon social theory, migration studies, and Securitization Theory, Philippe Bourbeau seeks to understand the concepts of power underlying security frameworks and how these affect the treatment of migrants and immigrants. This book is one of the first to systematically and comparatively examine the role of political agents, media agents, and contextual factors in the process of securitizing migration. The book will be of interest to students and scholars concerned with comparative and theoretical approaches to security and migration studies.

Objective To investigate the epidemiological characteristics of syphilis cases detected among entry-exit personnel at Shanghai ports from 2014 to 2022 and the changing trend of the syphilis epidemic in the region so as to provide data support for the scientific and effective prevention and control of syphilis at ports. Methods From January 2014 to December 2022, the subjects of syphilis screening at Shanghai port were selected. Physical examination and serological testing were used to confirm syphilis. All the data used were downloaded from the HIS system of Shanghai International Travel Healthcare Center. Descriptive epidemiology was used to analyze the characteristics of the detected cases, and the linear trend Chi-square test was used to analyze the trend between groups. Results From 2014 to 2022, a total of 918 cases of syphilis were detected among entry-exit personnel at Shanghai port, with a total detection rate of 154.68/100 000. The detection rate was the highest in 2015 and the lowest in 2022, showing a downward trend year by year since 2015. 54.36% of syphilis patients from East Asia were detected. Syphilis cases were reported in all age groups; most cases were under 39 years old, accounting for 36.06%. The syphilis detection rate in males was significantly higher than in females (79.63% vs. 20.4%). The main way of transmission was sexual transmission, accounting for 60.89%, among which male-to-male transmission was the primary way (22.36%). Conclusion The detection rate of syphilis among entry-exit personnel at Shanghai port has been decreasing continuously in recent years. Targeted health intervention should be carried out according to the monitoring results.

It is extraordinary to witness the spread of COVID-19 almost in real-time. This tight monitoring of the invasion of a new virus is a situation that most other invasion scientists could only dream of. Especially spatiotemporal spread data of the early phases of an invasion would be extremely useful in order to understand and predict the human-mediated spread of species around the globe. So far, invasive species that directly affect human health, such as the Sars-Cov-2 virus causing COVID-19, have been treated differently from invasive species affecting environmental health. Despite progresses in constructing large checklists of invasive species, these records often enter the databases only decades after the establishment of the organism in a country. This is inadequate to understand ongoing spread dynamics and estimate current invasion risks. Yet, national services often possess extremely useful information about early detections and interceptions of species at air and maritime ports, which could greatly improve predictions and help set management priorities. Considering the massive impacts of invasive species, it is time to move on to such a collaborative way of handling invasion data. Invasive insects, birds, mammals, fungi, and other species are the result of globalization and call for a globalized response, exactly like the COVID-19 pandemic.

The objective of this study is to provide a detailed taxonomic resource for identifying and studying ants in the genus Pheidole that have established beyond their native ranges. There is an increasing need for systematists to study taxa of specific concern to 21(st) century environmental, food security and public health challenges. Systematics has an important role to play in both the theoretical and applied disciplines of invasion biology. Few invaders impact terrestrial ecosystems more than ants. Among the world's 100 worst invasive species is the cosmopolitan and highly destructive Pheidole megacephala (Fabricius). Accurate identification of Pheidole megacephala is imperative for the success of screening, management and eradication programs designed to protect native ecosystems from the impacts of this destructive species. However, accurate identification of Pheidole species is difficult because of their taxonomic diversity, dimorphic worker caste and lack of taxonomic resources. Illustrated keys are included, along with the taxonomic history, taxonomic diagnoses, biological notes and risk statements for the 14 most invasive members of the genus. Global distribution maps based on over 14,000 specimen and literature records are presented for each species. These results of this work will facilitate identification of pest species, determination of climatic and habitat requirements, discovery of pest origins, horizon scanning and assessment of invasion pathways. The following new synonym is proposed, with the senior synonym listed first and the junior synonyms in parentheses: Pheidole indica Mayr (= Pheidole teneriffana Forel, and its synonyms Pheidole taina Aguayo and Pheidole voeltzkowii Forel). Pheidole navigans Forel, stat. rev., stat. n. is removed from synonymy and elevated to species rank. It is proposed that records of Pheidole moerens Forel outside of the Mesoamerica and the Caribbean refer instead to Pheidole navigans or other heterospecific taxa in the Pheidole flavens species complex. We propose that the names Pheidole anastasii Emery and Pheidole floridana Emery have been widely misapplied to North American outdoor records of Pheidole bilimeki Mayr. It is suggested that the synonymy of Pheidole lauta Wheeler be transferred from Pheidole floridana Emery to Pheidole bilimeki Mayr.

Located between Mexico and the US, the San Ysidro/El Chaparral Land Port of Entry (SYPOE) is one of the busiest border crossings in the world. People with activities at the SYPOE are exposed to vehicular pollutants, especially particles with aerodynamic diameters < 2.5 µm (PM2.5) and black carbon (BC), both associated with adverse health effects. This study presents the first PM2.5 and BC concentration measurements collected on the Mexican side of the SYPOE. The oxidative potential (OP) for PM2.5 and the inhalation dose of BC for people at the border were also evaluated. Autumn and winter showed the highest PM2.5 concentrations (at 28.7 μg m−3 and 28.2 μg m−3, respectively). BC concentration peaked in the winter of 2017 (at 5.7 ± 6 μgm−3), demonstrating an increase during periods with low wind speeds. The highest OPDTT of PM2.5 was reached in winter, with a value of 18.5 pmol min−1 µg−1 (0.6 nmol min−1m−3). The highest average daily inhalation dose for pedestrians was registered in the autumn of 2018 (5.9 μg for a 60-min waiting time), whereas, for workers, it was in the winter of 2017 (19 μg for a 10-h shift on average). Decreasing waiting times for pedestrians and adjusting work schedules for border workers on high concentration days could ameliorate environmental justice.

The mathematical study known as queueing theory has recently become a major point of interest for many government agencies and private companies for increasing efficiency. One such application is vehicle queueing at an international port-of-entry (POE). When queueing, fumes from idling vehicles negatively affect the overall health and well-being of the community, especially the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents that work at the POEs. As such, there is a need to analyze and optimize the border crossing queuing operations to minimize wait times and number of vehicles in the queue and, thus, reduce the vehicle emissions. For this research, the U.S.–Mexico POE located at The Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville, Texas, is used as a case study. Due to data privacy concerns, the hourly wait times for vehicles arriving at the border had to be extracted manually each day using a live wait time tracker online. The data extraction was performed for the month of March 2022. Using these wait times, a queueing simulation software, SIMIO, was used to develop an interactive simulation model and calibrate the service rates. The output from the SIMIO model was then used to develop an artificial neural network (ANN) to predict hourly particulate matter content with an R2 of 0.402. From the ANN, a predictive equation has been developed, which may be used by CBP to make operational decisions and improve the overall efficiency of this POE. Thus, lowering the average wait times and the emissions from idling vehicles in the queue.

Graduating from a school during a time of adverse economic conditions has a persistent, harmful effect on workers' subsequent employment opportunities. An analysis of panel data from OECD countries during the 1960–2010 periods reveals that a worker who experiences a 1 percentage point higher unemployment rate while the worker is 16-24 years old has a 0.14 percentage point higher unemployment rate at ages 25–29 years and 0.03 percentage points higher at ages 30–34 years. The persistence of this negative effect is stronger in countries with stricter employment protection legislation. A composite index for labor-market rigidity is constructed and the index is shown to have positive correlation with the persistence. Moderating macroeconomic fluctuations is more important in countries that have more persistent labor-market entry effects on subsequent outcomes.

Nucleus of this research is to identify how the strategies of trucking and land transportation and logistics companies utilizing the U.S. Mexican border land routes affect border processing times, while providing policy recommendations for specific problems. Namely, this work identifies a link between delays and security at the border, as opposed to security risk-mitigation strategies by truckers on the Mexican side of the border. As higher volumes of containerized cargoes are processed at the U.S. Borders each year, security risks also increase. In fact, illegitimate entities such as money laundering, drug trafficking, contraband and human trafficking cartels strategically select busy ports of entry and high traffic times, in order for illegitimate trade and travelers to penetrate the U.S. borders (Burns J Transp Secur. 11(3–4): 85–100 2018; Basu J Transp Secur 7:99–113 2014; Böhle et al in J Transp Secur 7:255–276 2014). Optimum border management and border security results do not depend exclusively on border patrol and border protection agencies: industry stakeholders can contribute towards optimum results once they eliminate waste and operate in greater efficiency (Burns J Transp Secur. 11(3–4): 85–100 2018). For this to be achieved, supply chain stakeholders and partners should make strategic decisions with increased visibility, harmonization of processes, and standard operating procedures in place. This paper is a part of a broader border security research conducted by the author, focusing on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) missions “to safeguard lawful trade and travel”, “to secure and manage our borders”, and the goal “to secure the U.S. borders, by preventing the illegal flow of people and goods across the borders, while expediting the safe flow of lawful travel and commerce” (DHS 2015–2019; DHS 2014–2018; DHS 2012–2016). This paper entails three goals: First, to identify and classify the high risk areas at the border. Second, to propose recommendations for improvement whereas pinpointing time saved. Third, to offer an array of options where government professionals (such as U.S. DHS, CBP (2017c, d), ICE) and industry stakeholders can pick and choose solutions and avoid, eliminate, share or allocate to contractors their security risks throughout different stages of the supply chain.

\"Line in the Sand\" details the dramatic transformation of the western U.S.-Mexico border from its creation at the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848 to the emergence of the modern boundary line in the first decades of the twentieth century. In this sweeping narrative, Rachel St. John explores how this boundary changed from a mere line on a map to a clearly marked and heavily regulated divide between the United States and Mexico. Focusing on the desert border to the west of the Rio Grande, this book explains the origins of the modern border and places the line at the center of a transnational history of expanding capitalism and state power in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Moving across local, regional, and national scales, St. John shows how government officials, Native American raiders, ranchers, railroad builders, miners, investors, immigrants, and smugglers contributed to the rise of state power on the border and developed strategies to navigate the increasingly regulated landscape. Over the border's history, the U.S. and Mexican states gradually developed an expanding array of official laws, ad hoc arrangements, government agents, and physical barriers that did not close the line, but made it a flexible barrier that restricted the movement of some people, goods, and animals without impeding others. By the 1930s, their efforts had created the foundations of the modern border control apparatus. Drawing on extensive research in U.S. and Mexican archives,\"Line in the Sand\" weaves together a transnational history of how an undistinguished strip of land became the significant and symbolic space of state power and national definition that we know today.