Immigration Routes Research Articles

Phylogeographic Reconstruction to Trace the Source Population of Asian Giant Hornet Caught in Nanaimo in Canada and Blaine in the USA.

The Asian giant hornet, Vespa mandarinia, is an invasive species that could potentially destroy the local honeybee industry in North America. It has been observed to nest in the coastal regions of British Columbia in Canada and Washington State in the USA. What is the source population of the immigrant hornets? The identification of the source population can shed light not only on the route of immigration but also on the similarity between the native habitat and the potential new habitat in the Pacific Northwest. We analyzed mitochondrial COX1 sequences of specimens sampled from multiple populations in China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the Russian Far East. V. mandarinia exhibits phylogeographic patterns, forming monophyletic clades for 16 specimens from China, six specimens from the Republic of Korea, and two specimens from Japan. The two mitochondrial COX1 sequences from Nanaimo, British Columbia, are identical to the two sequences from Japan. The COX1 sequence from Blaine, Washington State, clustered with those from the Republic of Korea and is identical to one sequence from the Republic of Korea. Our geophylogeny, which allows visualization of genetic variation over time and space, provides evolutionary insights on the evolution and speciation of three closely related vespine species (V. tropica, V. soror, and V. mandarinia), with the speciation events associated with the expansion of the distribution to the north.

British Values, Hong Kong Voices: Tracing Hong Kong’s Britishness and Its Influences on British Immigration Policies

Abstract This article examines the rationale behind the United Kingdom’s decision to offer Hongkongers new immigration routes and assess whether Britishness constitutes part of Hong Kong’s identity, influencing this policy choice. It explores the concept of Britishness and how Hong Kong developed a distinct identity through its colonial history and experiences under British rule. Perspectives from the British administration, Hongkongers, and Chinese government on Hong Kong’s Britishness are considered. The article argues the United Kingdom action stems from two factors – perceiving a shared Britishness between Hongkongers and Britons mitigating public backlash, and viewing Hongkongers’ Britishness as crucial to their integration. Ultimately, Britishness remains integral to Hong Kong due to shared social and political values with Britain from over 150 years of colonial rule.

ANALYZING THE ROLE OF TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME IN TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS IN INDONESIA: A CASE STUDY ON MIDDLE EAST ILLEGAL MIGRATION ROUTES

This study analyzes the role of transnational organized crime in human trafficking in Indonesia, especially in illegal immigration routes in the Middle East. The case studies conducted in this study will provide a clear picture of the modus operandi, perpetrators and victims of human trafficking incidents involving transnational criminal networks. Efforts to prevent and combat human trafficking in Indonesia can be implemented through a variety of strategies, including public awareness-raising, enforce rigorous prosecution of perpetrators, strengthen international cooperation, and provide victims with adequate protection and rehabilitation. However, many challenges remain, including lack of coordination.

Founder effect may offer protection from ischemic heart disease in the South-Brazilian Mennonites

Abstract Introduction The Mennonites are an Anabaptist population originated in Europe around 500 years ago. They are a relatively isolated population, established in Brazil in 1930, which suffered three bottleneck effects that reduced their genetic variability and may increase the frequency of diseases. Purpose We aimed to clarify the genetic epidemiology of heart disease in this population. Methods Epidemiological, biometrical and lipidogram data were collected from 2016 to 2020, based on an adapted questionnaire of the Brazilian National Health Research. In total, 485 Mennonites (MEN) and 45 non-Mennonites from three different settlements in Curitiba, Witmarsum, and Colônia Nova (CON) were enrolled in the study. DNA was extracted from blood and 104 exomes from CON, sequenced to >30x coverage. Results The prevalence of hypertension (20.5 vs. 31.8%, p<0.001) and dyslipidemia (41.1% vs. 65.1%, p<0.001) were lower compared to Germans (GER). When compared to Brazilians (BRA), dyslipidemia was higher in Mennonites (23% vs. 41.3%, p<0.001) and hypertension was higher in Brazilians (20.5% vs. 25.7%, p=0.02). The prevalence of overweight among the three populations doesn't have a significant statistical difference (59% MEN, 55.7% BRA, 59.7% GER, p=0.09). Myocardial infarction (MI) prevalence is drastically different between the three (0.6% MEN, 7.1% BR, 4.7% GER, p<0.001). The immigration route had an impact on the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk when adjusted to, hypertension, sex, first degree relative with CVD, and age. The more extenuating the immigration route of the Mennonites, the higher is the CVD risk (OR 1.57, IC95 1.22–2.03, p=0.001). Forty-five variants of 35 genes were associated with a dominant effect for CVD (p<0.01) independently of sex, age, body mass index, and weekly physical activity. Between those, 38 are known to be associated with mRNA levels on heart/arteries (eQTLs in GTEX), 14 are missense mutations, one causes a frameshift and 18 destroy or create CpG sites with a possible epigenetic effect. The frequency of 14 out 16 alleles differed from non-Finish Europeans and Brazilians, indicating a possible founder effect. Eight are associated with CVD protection (p<0.001). These variants are related to less inflammation of atherosclerotic plaques. Conclusion The South-Brazilian Mennonite population seems to have some kind of protection for ischemic heart disease, which may rely on founder effects that raised the frequencies of protective alleles. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): CAPES for PROAP finance Code 001, and scholarships for WAVJ and LCO. ABWB receives a research productivity scholarship from CNPq (protocol 314288/2018-0).

Achievement of Two Cohorts of Immigrants: Cognitive Mapping Changes and the Country of Origin as Moderator

This study compares the achievement of two cohorts of immigrants with ages between 7 and 30 years old. Two sets of participants were assessed in two points in time and in different regions of Portugal. 169 students with similar immigration conditions for this analysis (nationality, length of residence, previous education in the country of origin) were examined in two trials of language and cognitive tasks, through two periods (period 1: 2002-2007; period 2: 2013-2017). These two periods and cohorts were result from two randomized studies, approved in different regions and submitted to ethical board in different times. Regarding age: participants presented a mean age of 14 years (M = 13.8; SD = 4.7); and concerning the nationality. The two cohorts are from the Centre and the South of the country being 61 participants in the first cohort (arrived in the period of 2002-2007) and 108 were the second cohort.The main objective is to ascertain if age and/or nationality characteristics became moderators of significant changes in Second Language achievement considering the two periods of study. The variety of nationalities in the two periods and cohorts are direct implications from the changing of immigrant routes. Then, affecting also the cognitive and linguistic changes over time.Results revealed that the two groups diverge significantly in verbal reasoning and other discrimination tasks explained by the nationality and not by age. These findings shed light on the impact of new routes of immigration for the linguistic and school development of children.

Immigrant child health in Canada: a scoping review

IntroductionUnderstanding the health of immigrant children from birth to 18 years of age is important given the significance of the early childhood years and complexity of factors that may influence...

Nearly two years without the Overseas Registration Exam: what's next for internationally qualified dentists in the UK?

Due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, internationally qualified dentists have been negatively impacted. This is due to the suspension of the Overseas Registration Exam (ORE) with no confirmation of any future dates. Similarly, UK dentistry was also affected by a significant increase in waiting lists all over the UK, with long waiting lists being present even before the pandemic. Due to these factors, many have highlighted and argued the need for internationally qualified dentists and urged the need to facilitate their registrations. Additionally, after Brexit, the government has introduced new immigration routes to attract overseas, highly educated human resources, so that they can contribute to different sectors in the UK. Considering these circumstances, there are a few alternatives to the ORE that could be introduced to facilitate the registration of internationally qualified dentists and to support NHS dental services. This paper suggests short- and long-term solutions to support the registration of internationally qualified dentists, considering that after two years, European-qualified dentists might need to undertake registration exams as well.

From irregular immigrants to naturalised citizens: Indian immigration and immigration policies in Spain, 1985–2018

ABSTRACT Immigration policies have a considerable impact on the influx and settlement process of immigrants, including ways and routes of immigration, regularisation, access to public services (such as education, housing and medical services), entry into the labour market, family reunification and access to citizenship. Consequently, changes in immigration policy determine the pace and direction of migrant integration and status mobility in host countries. Drawing from 64 semi-structured in-depth interviews with Indian immigrants in Spain, this paper explores the perceived effects of changes in immigration policies in Spain on immigration conditions, status mobility and integration of Indian immigrants, and strategies adopted by them to deal with these policies, during the period between 1985 and 2018. Results show that the Spanish immigration policies had several unintended negative effects on immigration conditions, regularisation, family reunification and access to Spanish citizenship, which in turn have slowed down their pace of integration and upward social mobility.

Transalpine dispersal: Italian barred grass snakes in southernmost Bavaria—This far but no further!

Based on 1031 samples of grass snakes from Central Europe, we examine the recently reported occurrence of the southern subspecies of the barred grass snake (Natrix helvetica sicula) in southern Bavaria, Germany. Using 13 microsatellite loci and mtDNA coding for the cytb gene and the partial ND4 gene plus adjacent tRNAs, we show that N. h. sicula is restricted to a few river valleys (Inn, Isar, Loisach) in southernmost Bavaria and adjacent Tyrol, Austria. At the widening of the river valleys into the pre-Alpine plains, N. h. sicula hybridizes locally with the common grass snake (Natrix natrix) in a bimodal hybrid zone. Our study provides evidence that Central Europe was colonized by Natrix helvetica over two distinct immigration routes. In addition to the previously known western route of the nominotypical subspecies, leading to the colonization of the Rhine region, N. h. sicula crossed the Alps, most likely using the Brenner Pass and/or the Reschen Pass. Our study underlines that the Alps are not an impermeable biogeographic barrier, as often assumed. North of the Alps, the combination of geographic setting (occurrence of N. h. sicula in sheltered Alpine valleys) and population-density-dependent blocking of immigrants by the resident species (N. natrix), acting in concert with intrinsic genetic factors, prevented the formation of a geographically more extended hybrid zone. Unlike N. helvetica, the two subspecies of N. natrix hybridize north of the Alps broadly, in accordance with their better genetic compatibility. Many populations of the resident Central European subspecies (Natrix natrix natrix) have been “genetically swamped” by Natrix natrix vulgaris immigrating from the Balkans. This led to the complete replacement of N. n. natrix by N. n. vulgaris in some regions, where today only the mtDNA of the nominotypical subspecies persists.

Traffic Policy towards the Current of Refugees and Subscribers Movement in Reforming State Sovereignty

Countries like Indonesia that have immigration routes will look at every foreigner’s problem from an immigration point of view. Foreigners who enter Indonesia without travel documents are considered illegal. When referring to concrete cases, generally refugees or asylum seekers may not have complete travel documents. Because it is impossible for them to be forced to leave their country, by first obtaining a visa, passport, or other correspondence. In most cases that occur, refugees or asylum seekers do not have complete travel documents. So, in order to maintain sovereignty in the authority of immigration supervision, it is very important to research related Immigration traffic. The problem raised in this paper is how the monitoring mechanism of immigration traffic, in order to reinforce the concept of sovereignty. In writing this journal the author uses a statutory approach, a case approach, and a sociological approach. The method used in this paper is a normative juridical method so that answers will be found in the form of a descriptive perspective. The conclusion in this paper is that the policy on the flow of refugee movements into Indonesia is not in accordance with the concept of sovereignty, where the regulation of the flow of refugee movements is very vulnerable to the aspects of crime (trafficking in persons, narcotics, prostitution, etc.), in fact the sovereignty of the state become a protector for refugees who come to Indonesia, from international and national crime systems, and that is often misunderstood. So, the suggestion from this research is that immigration should be given space in the framework of supervision for Refugees and Asylum Seekers, which have been under the authority of the Immigration Detention Center (RUDENIM).

Comparison of Cognitive Performance Between Two Generations of Immigrant School-Aged Children: Child Development Change Over Time

The objective of this research is to comparatively analyze the performance of two generations of children (as first generation of immigrants) attending primary and secondary education in different geographical areas, evaluated in different decades but with equivalent age brackets. Two samples of 169 immigrant school populations in Portugal, with fair immigration criteria, were evaluated for the same verbal reasoning and auditory discrimination tasks in different periods (cohort 1—2001–2009 and cohort 2—2013–2017). The aim is to verify if age remains a differentiating variable of the performance and acuity, as maintained by the critical period hypothesis. That performance referring to two samples evaluated in second language decoding tasks, in different periods. Additionally, to evaluate the emergence of other factors that explain proficiency, cognitive and linguistic discrimination behaviors of two generations of immigrant students in Portugal. The results contribute to a new direction in the analysis and intervention for school groups that are highly diverse in terms of mother tongue and nationalities. The data point to a greater divergence of performance and difficulties not according only to the disparity of ages, but considering the nationality (country of origin and respective educational system). It is also clear, despite just the difference of a decade, how subjects are changing their immigration routes and their cognitive and social development.

Citizenship in Post-Conflict Kosovo

The recent developments of the refugee crisis have shaken Europe but many forgot that it all happened with the Kosovo Albanians leaving their land in the winter of 2015 and heading to EU. They have been the first passengers on the immigration route leading to EU after many others followed them creating a big immigration crisis. The reasons for this crisis are various and we will focus on the case of Kosovo and thus try to help understanding it. Years ago Kosovo citizens started leaving their country legally with Serbian passports and this has created a worrying effect in the EU. As an outcome Serbia was forced to issue a different kind of passport to its citizens in Kosovo. In fact Serbian citizenship belongs to each and every citizen of Kosovo, in fact they are all dual citizens. The problem was that the Serbian government issued passports of a different kind to its Kosovo citizens and that way prevented them from using the visa free travel to EU. This case of discrimination is coming together with the somewhat forceful pushing of the Kosovo citizenship onto the Serbian minority in North Kosovo.

Energy-Aware Scheduling in Edge Computing Based on Energy Internet

Edge computing has been widely researched when 5G network and cloud platforms work together for people’s life. The limitation of energy provided by the battery of the edge device hinders its application. This paper focuses on task scheduling in edge computing combined with the Energy harvesting technology (EH) and Energy Internet (EI). The edge node collects green energy by EH. And nodes exchange energy by EI. Energy Internet obtains green energy from edge nodes. Compared to green energy, we call energy from the power grid (not from the energy of edge nodes by energy harvesting technology) brown energy. How to reduce brown energy consumption is one of the most important problem in our paper. Previous works have not examined the energy attenuation between nodes, neither have they studied the immigration routes of virtual machines (VMs). This paper analyzes VM scheduling and models the energy consumption of VM immigrations, offloading tasks, and green energy transfer in edge computing. The paper proposes a heuristic assumption that there is only one VM in the system, and then presents three heuristics for the system with multiple VMs. The simulation results show that the proposed - immigrated VMs with the minimum energy transferring attenuation ratio method (METAR) is effective in reducing brown energy and total energy consumption, and improving the utilization rate of green energy. Compared to the Energy-Efficiency problem solution (EE-PRO) and maximize task energy consumption scheduling (MTS), METAR average reduces by 28.23% and 49.50% in brown energy consumption. At the same time, METAR average decreases by 5.67% and 11.52% in execution time.

Iphan e Fundação Catarinense de Cultura: políticas para o patrimônio cultural do imigrante europeu em Santa Catarina na década de 1980

RESUMO O objetivo deste artigo é problematizar as políticas de preservação do patrimônio cultural do imigrante europeu em Santa Catarina durante a década de 1980. Para tanto, será analisada parte das ações empreendidas pelo Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional (Iphan) e pela Fundação Catarinense de Cultura (FCC) que culminaram na formação dos Roteiros Nacionais de Imigração. Esse projeto definiu, por meio de ações de salvaguarda do patrimônio cultural, qual era o lugar do patrimônio do imigrante e como se daria sua preservação no Brasil e em Santa Catarina. O artigo destaca ainda como o imigrante - e, consequentemente, seu patrimônio - adquiriu valor dentro da política de preservação estadual de forma a construir, para o estado catarinense, uma perspectiva de patrimônio cultural calcada essencialmente em questões étnicas.

Causes and main routes of the mass immigration to Europe in 2015

The flow of immigrants into Europe is a phenomenon commonly known since the end of the Second World War. To a large extent it was the result of a colonial and then post-colonial relationship between metropolises and their overseas territories. Migration movements in Europe intensified after 1989 along with systemic changes in the eastern part of the continent. The phenomenon of increased migration to Europe observed since March 2015 combines both processes: economic migration, which undoubtedly dominates in terms of number, and exiles, of a much smaller scale, but given as the cause of migration by almost all migrants. A new phenomenon is the fact that a large part of migrants constitutes uncontrolled migration, which in previous years was marginal. In 2015, asylum applications were submitted in EU countries by as many as 1.25 million people. The influx of refugees to Europe has become not only a demographic phenomenon, but also a political one, evoking strong political emotions. Mass migrations also seem to be an instrument of international policy implementation by key world powers. The main purpose of the article was to present the background of the mass migration to Europe that took place in 2015. The main reasons for the decision to emigrate by the citizens of origin countries were shown, as well as the routes by which refugees flow into Europe.

The Hypothesis about the Lofoten Pleistocene Refugium for Pinus sylvestris L.

The dates of appearance of a representative portion of Pinus sylvestris L. pollen in palynospectra (≥20%) have been analyzed as a parameter reflecting the spread of leading-edge pine populations from central and eastern Europe to the Lofoten region via probable alternative routes of population immigration. It has been found that they could reach this region not earlier than 6500–7000 years BP, i.e., 2500–3000 years later than the factual palynological date, even at the maximum possible rate of their spread (300–500 km/1000 years). Therefore, the probability of the origin of Lofoten P. sylvestris populations from adventive populations that migrated to Scandinavia from adjacent European regions is excluded. The generalization of the results of studies on the chronopalynology and rate of Holocene expansion of P sylvestris and data on paleoglaciology, paleomarinology, paleobotany, and modern genogeography and ecology of Scots pine has confirmed the hypothesis about the survival of autochthonous refugial populations of this species on the Lofoten Islands during the last glacial phase and their expansion during the Holocene.

Immigration In Spain: Migratory Routes, Cooperation With Third Countries and Human Rights in Return Procedures

Following a brief overview of immigration in Spain, the present paper first analyses the main routes of illegal immigration into Spain, giving recent data on the number of arrivals by sea and land to the Iberian Peninsula, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands and Spanish territories in North Africa. The sea has traditionally been the main route of entry to Spanish territory for immigrants primarily from Sub-Saharan Africa. However, the years 2013 to 2015 proved an exception to this rule, with immigration by land outstripping that by sea due to an increase in the arrival of Syrian immigrants to the cities of Ceuta and above all Melilla. Next, a description is given of the political and operational mechanisms established by the Spanish authorities to control Spain’s maritime borders, especially in the Canary Islands. Such border control is achieved through unilateral surveillance measures (the Integrated External Surveillance System, Spanish initials: SIVE), bilateral cooperation (inter-state agreements with Morocco and other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa) and regional cooperation within the European Union (EU). This is followed by a discussion of how immigration routes have been affected by increased cooperation between Spain and African States to intercept immigrants in their countries of origin or during transit. There is likewise an analysis of Spain’s use of summary returns or pushbacks following assaults or jumps on the border fences surrounding Ceuta and Melilla and attempts of arrival by swimming in Ceuta or by sea to Spanish islands and islets in North Africa, within the framework of the 1992 Spanish-Moroccan agreement on readmission of foreigners who have entered illegally. Lastly, we argue that the reinforcement of border control alone is insufficient to curb migration flows: to be effective, it must be accompanied by common policies in the European countries of destination and increased investment in the countries of origin to provide their citizens with the opportunity to obtain a higher standard of living and overcome the temptation to emigrate as a first option.

Phylogeography of freshwater planorbid snails reveals diversification patterns in Eurasian continental islands

BackgroundIslands have traditionally been the centre of evolutionary biological research, but the dynamics of immigration and differentiation at continental islands have not been well studied. Therefore, we focused on the Japanese archipelago, the continental islands located at the eastern end of the Eurasian continent. While the Japanese archipelago is characterised by high biodiversity and rich freshwater habitats, the origin and formation mechanisms of its freshwater organisms are not clear. In order to clarify the history of the planorbid gastropod fauna, we conducted phylogenetic analysis, divergence time estimation, ancestral state reconstruction, and lineage diversity estimations.ResultsOur analyses revealed the formation process of the planorbid fauna in the Japanese archipelago. Most lineages in the Japanese archipelago have closely related lineages on the continent, and the divergence within the Japanese lineages presumably occurred after the late Pliocene. In addition, each lineage is characterised by different phylogeographical patterns, suggesting that immigration routes from the continent to the Japanese archipelago differ among lineages. Furthermore, a regional lineage diversity plot showed that the present diversity in the Japanese archipelago potentially reflects the differentiation of lineages within the islands after the development of the Japanese archipelago.ConclusionsAlthough additional taxon sampling and genetic analysis focused on each lineage are needed, our results suggest that immigration from multiple routes just prior to the development of the Japanese archipelago and subsequent diversification within the islands are major causes of the present-day diversity of the Japanese planorbid fauna.

Climatic Changes and Orogeneses in the Late Miocene of Eurasia: The Main Triggers of an Expansion at a Continental Scale?

Migrations from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) to other temperate regions represent one of the main biogeographical patterns for the Northern Hemisphere. However, the ages and routes of these migrations are largely not known. We aimed to reconstruct a well-resolved and dated phylogeny of Hippophae L. (Elaeagnaceae) and test hypothesis of a westward migration of this plant out of the QTP across Eurasian mountains in the Miocene. We produced two data matrices of five chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) and five nuclear DNA markers for all distinct taxa of Hippophae. These matrices were used to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships in the genus. In dating analyses, we first estimated the stem node age of Elaeagnaceae using five fossil records evenly distributed across a tree of Rosales. We used this estimate and two fossil records to calibrate the cpDNA and nDNA phylogenies of Hippophae. The same phylogenies were used to reconstruct ancestral areas within the genus. The monophyly of Hippophae, all five species, and most of subspecies was strongly supported by both plastid and nuclear data sets. Diversification of Hippophae likely started in central Himalayas/southern Tibet in the early Miocene and all extant distinct species had probably originated by the middle Miocene. Diversification of Hippophae rhamnoides likely started in the late Miocene east of the QTP from where this species rapidly expanded to central and western Eurasia. Our findings highlight the impact of different stages in uplift of the QTP and Eurasian mountains and climatic changes in the Neogene on diversification and range shifts in the highland flora on the continent. The results provide support to the idea of an immigration route for some European highland plants from their ancestral areas on the QTP across central and western mountain ranges of Eurasia in the late Miocene.

Vulnerability and Government Response to Human Trafficking: Vague Fuzzy Incidence Graphs

We introduce the notion of a vague incidence graph and its eccentricity. We apply the results to problems involving human trafficking and illegal immigration. We are particularly interested in the roll played by countries’ vulnerability and their government’s response to human trafficking. We show of the leading illegal immigration routes through Mexico to the United States that Somalia has the highest eccentricity. We also provide measures on how much a region needs to reduce flow or increase government response to be modelled by a fuzzy incidence graph. It turns out that the Commonwealth of Independent States has the largest measure for both vulnerability and government response than any other region.