US Ports Of Entry Research Articles

Peruvian origin and global invasions of five continents by the highly damaging agricultural pest Liriomyza huidobrensis (Diptera: Agromyzidae).

Identification of the geographic origin of invasive species can be critical to effective management and amelioration of negative impacts in the introduced range. Liriomyza huidobrensis is a polyphagous leafmining fly that is a devastating pest of many vegetable and floriculture crops around the world. Considered native to South and possibly Central America, L. huidobrensis became invasive in the 1980s and has since spread to at least 30 countries on five continents. We used phylogeographic analysis of over 2 kb of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I and II sequence data from 403 field-collected specimens from both native and introduced populations to investigate the geographic origins of invasive L. huidobrensis worldwide. Within South America, there was substantial genetic variation, as well as the strong phylogeographic structure typical of a native range. In contrast, leafminers from the introduced range and Central America all contained little genetic variation and shared the same small set of haplotypes. These haplotypes trace to Peru as the ultimate geographic origin of invasive populations. Central America is rejected as part of the original geographic range of L. huidobrensis. Within Peru, the primary export region of Lima shared an extremely similar pattern of reduced haplotype variation to the invasive populations. An additional 18 specimens collected at US ports of entry did not share the same haplotype profile as contemporary invasive populations, raising perplexing questions on global pathways and establishment success in this species.

SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Other Communicable Diseases Identified Among Evacuees From Afghanistan Arriving in Virginia and Pennsylvania, August to September 2021.

In 2021, the US government undertook Operation Allies Welcome, in which evacuees from Afghanistan arrived at 2 US ports of entry in Virginia and Pennsylvania. Because of the rapid evacuation process, the US government granted evacuees an exemption to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requirement in place at that time-namely, that air passengers present a negative SARS-CoV-2 viral test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before they boarded international flights bound for the United States. This study describes cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection detected among 65 068 evacuees who arrived at the 2 ports of entry in August and September 2021. Because evacuees were a population at increased risk for infection with diseases of public health concern, CDC staff helped coordinate on-site and on-arrival testing, visually observed evacuees for signs and symptoms of communicable disease, and referred evacuees for further evaluation and treatment as needed. CDC staff used antigen or nucleic acid amplification tests at the ports of entry to evaluate evacuees aged ≥2 years without documentation of recent SARS-CoV-2 infection. CDC staff isolated evacuees with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and quarantined their close contacts, consistent with CDC guidance at the time, before evacuees rejoined the repatriation process. Of 65 068 evacuees, 214 (0.3%) were confirmed as having SARS-CoV-2 infection after port-of-entry testing. Cases of measles, varicella, pertussis, tuberculosis, hepatitis A, malaria, leishmaniasis, and diarrheal illness were also identified. Although the percentage of SARS-CoV-2 infection was low in this evacuated population, communicable disease detection at US ports of entry, along with vaccination efforts, was an important part of a multilayered approach to mitigate the transmission of disease in congregate housing facilities and into US communities.

On alert for Ebola: public health risk assessment of travellers from Uganda to the USA during the 2022 outbreak.

On 20 September 2022, the Ugandan Ministry of Health declared an outbreak of Ebola disease caused by Sudan ebolavirus. From 6 October 2022 to 10 January 2023, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff conducted public health assessments at five US ports of entry for travellers identified as having been in Uganda in the past 21days. CDC also recommended that state, local and territorial health departments ('health departments') conduct post-arrival monitoring of these travellers. CDC provided traveller contact information, daily to 58 health departments, and collected health department data regarding monitoring outcomes. Among 11 583 travellers screened, 132 (1%) required additional assessment due to potential exposures or symptoms of concern. Fifty-three (91%) health departments reported receiving traveller data from CDC for 10 114 (87%) travellers, of whom 8499 (84%) were contacted for monitoring, 1547 (15%) could not be contacted and 68 (1%) had no reported outcomes. No travellers with high-risk exposures or Ebola disease were identified. Entry risk assessment and post-arrival monitoring of travellers are resource-intensive activities that had low demonstrated yield during this and previous outbreaks. The efficiency of future responses could be improved by incorporating an assessment of risk of importation of disease, accounting for individual travellers' potential for exposure, and expanded use of methods that reduce burden to federal agencies, health departments, and travellers.

Strategic Resources for Drug Trafficking Organizations and the Geography of Violence: Evidence from Mexico

Abstract This article helps understand why locations close to strategic infrastructure to transport illegal drugs (seaports, airports, highways, and US ports of entry along the Mexico-US border) or to increase income (pipelines) experience different levels of violence due to DTOs operations. Our theory breaks down the impact of the geographical distance to these facilities on violence into two effects. The first effect is produced by the level of (violent) competition among DTOs, measured by the number of DTOs employing violence. We report that greater proximity to the U.S. ports of entry along the Mexico-US border, ports, and airports furthers the number of competitors, and such increase boosts violence. The second effect shapes the intensity of competition among DTOs. Reductions in the costs of excluding competing DTOs from using the facility could trigger greater confrontation among DTOs. We confirm the importance of this second effect in relation to ports and the U.S. ports of entry along the Mexico-US border.

Demographic and travel characteristics and self-reported predeparture SARS-CoV-2 testing behavior in air passengers entering the United States from foreign destinations from July to September 2021.

From January 2021 to June 2022, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention required predeparture SARS-CoV-2 testing for all air passengers arriving into the United States from a foreign country. Using data collected during a surveillance project, we described predeparture testing behavior among a convenience sample of international air passengers entering the United States from July to September 2021 at six US ports of entry. We analyzed pairwise relationships between self-reported test type, test timing, demographic and travel characteristics, and COVID-19 vaccination status using chi-square and Fisher's exact tests. Participants were more likely to get a NAAT versus antigen test if they identified as non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander (68.2%, n = 173), non-Hispanic Black (62.6%, n = 147), or if they preferred not to report race and ethnicity (60.8%, n = 209) when compared to those who identified as non-Hispanic White (47.1%, n = 1086, all p < 0.05). Those who identified as Hispanic or Latino (n = 671) were less likely to get a NAAT than the non-Hispanic White group (39.5% vs. 47.1%, p < 0.05). Participants arriving in the US from the Americas were less likely to get a NAAT (38.5%, n = 871) compared to those arriving from Europe (45.5%, n = 1165, p < 0.05). Participants who reported receiving their predeparture test 2 days or 3 or more days before departure were more likely to report receiving a NAAT (52.2%, n = 879, and 60.2%, n = 410, respectively) than those who reported testing within 1 day (41.4%, n = 1040, all p < 0.001) of departure. Test type was significantly associated with race and ethnicity, departure region, and test timing. Differences likely reflected regional disparities in the availability of tests at the time of the activity. Discrepancies in predeparture test timing and type worldwide may have consequences for the effectiveness and equity of travel requirements in future pandemics.

A Social Network Analysis of Large-Scale Wildlife Seizures Made at US Ports of Entry

ABSTRACT The United States is among the largest markets of both legal and illegal wildlife in the world. Prior studies of wildlife seized at US ports of entry have demonstrated that a small number of flora and fauna species account for a disproportionate share of illicit wildlife seizures and that a select number of entry ports and export countries account for the large majority of these seizures. However, the distributional flow of wildlife entering the US – the patterns of where a particular wildlife originates and the port of entry it arrives at – remains unclear. Using a social network analysis to model 31,270 large-scale trafficking incidents between 2003 and 2012, we found that removing five ports from the network would disrupt over 66% of the illegal wildlife trade by each major mode of transportation (air cargo, mail, personal baggage, ocean cargo). Further, certain ports have emerged as important seizure hubs regardless of transportation modes, such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, while other US entry ports are highly dense and seized most illicit wildlife specifically by one transportation mode. On the exporter side, China, Mexico, and Southeast Asia had an outsized effect on network clusters and should be targeted for network fragmentation and anti-trafficking education campaigns.

United States port interceptions and predicted climate suitability of the red dwarf honeybee, Apis florea (Hymenoptera: Apidae), with notes on its identification

We analyzed the port interceptions of the red dwarf honeybee, Apis (Micrapis) florea and undetermined species of Apis from regions where the A. florea is present. We also provide information on the potential distribution of this species globally and for the USA by using two climatic suitability models: Plant Hardiness Zones and Maxent. The results show several significant interceptions at US ports of entry in the last 10 years, including complete colonies associated with sea containers. In addition, the climatic models showed suitable areas in warmer regions of the world, and Southern and Western USA. Finally, we provide some additional notes for the diagnosis of the females and males of A. florea, including some novel characters from the gonangulum and the sting blades, both parts of the complex sting apparatus of the workers.

Geography, opportunity and bridgeheads facilitate termite invasions to the United States

With the ever-increasing rate of globalization, port of entry data can be an important source of information for the introduction and spread of invasive species on a worldwide scale. Using a comprehensive dataset spanning records from 1923 to 2017, termite interceptions at US ports of entry were analyzed. We identified 906 non-native interceptions originating from outside the US, including four families, 32 genera and 75 different termite species. Non-native termites originated from 88 different countries and were intercepted in 29 different states. There was a strong regional bias, with termite-rich areas closest to the US—Central America, South America and the Caribbean—the greatest exporters of termite species to the US. Among the 75 non-native termites intercepted, 12 had already become established outside of their native range, with eight appearing to utilize bridgeheads to expand their global distribution. Additionally, the establishment probability of a species was positively influenced by the number of interceptions, as three of the most common non-native species intercepted at ports of entry are currently established within the US—Nasutitermes corniger, Cryptotermes brevis and Coptotermes formosanus. Our results reveal important insights into the global dispersal of invasive termites and contribute further evidence towards the importance of trade, increased propagule pressure and the bridgehead effect as drivers of global invasion rates.

Allaeotes niger, a weevil introduced to Cuba and the only known New World Stromboscerini (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Dryophthorinae).

Allaeotes niger He, Zhang and Pelsue, a weevil hitherto known only from the type series collected in China, is for the first time reported from Cuba. In addition to three historical Cuban specimens, approximately one hundred adults were observed in 2018 under bark of fallen logs at a plantation of (likely non-native) pines in westernmost Pinar del Río province. This is the only New World record of a member of the monophyletic core of the tribe Stromboscerini, otherwise distributed in a triangle delimited by Japan, Sri Lanka and northern Australia (plus a single mysterious record from Uganda). Phylogenetic analysis of one mitochondrial (COI) and two nuclear (ITS2 and 28S) markers recovered the Cuban specimens nested within the tribe, but not in a clade with two unnamed congeners from Vietnam. Adults of all four known Allaeotes species are illustrated, including both named ones. Remarkably, both Cuban and Ugandan records of extraterritorial Stromboscerini pertain to species associated with dead wood, a biological trait possibly facilitating human-assisted transoceanic dispersal. Cuban populations of A. niger are interpreted as a pre-1990 human-mediated introduction. Two additional specimens of A. niger intercepted at US ports of entry arriving from China and the Dominican Republic, respectively, corroborate this hypothesis and suggest China as a likely origin of the Cuban introduction. All data used herein (specimen images, geographical localities, DNA sequences) are available online in a public dataset dx.doi.org/10.5883/DS-VGDS012.

Invading Muslim Bodies in the Era of Trump

Invading Muslim Bodies in the Era of Trump

An overview of seized illegal wildlife entering the United States

The current study analyses seizures made at US ports of entry between 2003 and 2013, with the aim to identify concentrations of illegal wildlife imports into the United States. Findings show that 94% of species seized belong to six groups – mammals, molluscs, birds, reptiles, fish and coral – with mammals and reptiles making up more than half of all seizure incidents. Additionally, most seized wildlife is imported as leather products, medicinal products and as meat. The majority of seizures emanate from six countries, and illegal wildlife is primarily brought to the US via airline baggage. Temporal trends of wildlife seizures point to increases in the seizures of all groups of species, with the exception of birds. Based on these findings, we recommend using situational crime prevention techniques at US ports of entry to reduce opportunities that enable this trade.

Bounding Mass Migration across the Atlantic: European Shipping Companies between US Border Building and Evasion (1860s–1920s)

Bounding Mass Migration across the Atlantic: European Shipping Companies between US Border Building and Evasion (1860s–1920s) This article questions the assumption that the rhetoric, laws and border controls to restrict immigration into the United States originated on the Pacific border to exclude Asians and were later transferred to the Atlantic border to limit European migration. To demonstrate that two separate immigration regimes had developed, I use the much-neglected perspective of passenger shipping companies as key actors in the development of border enforcement. As still relevant today, the authorities used transport companies as an integrated part of their border control system, yet at the same time this put them in a privileged position to help their clients pass or even evade controls. The article starts with contextualising the commercial interests behind maritime migrant transport and migration policies. It then analyses the implementation of border controls at the maritime front doors, and subsequently discusses how these had been evaded. Finally, this paper discusses how border controls had first spread from the US ports of entry to the northern and southern land borders and European hubs of departure, before finally consolidating into a frontier at the Mexican-American border, which divided the core from the periphery. I question the conception of a national border policy by clearly differentiating the Pacific and Atlantic border regimes, within which there were important local differences.

Is That a Rodent in Your Luggage? A Mixed Method Approach to Describe Bushmeat Importation into the United States

Bushmeat, defined as meat derived from wild animals, is a potential source of zoonotic pathogens. Bushmeat from restricted animals is illegal to import into the United States under US federal regulations. We reviewed US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) port of entry surveillance records from September 2005 through December 2010 and conducted focus group studies to describe trends in and reasons for bushmeat importation into the United States. In total, 543 confiscated bushmeat items were recorded. Half of the confiscated bushmeat items identified were rodents. Africa was the most frequent continent of origin. Seasonality was evident, with bushmeat confiscations peaking in late spring to early summer. Four times more bushmeat was confiscated during an enhanced surveillance period in June 2010 compared with the same period in previous years, suggesting that routine surveillance underestimated the amount of bushmeat detected at US Ports of Entry. Focus groups held in three major US cities revealed that bushmeat importation is a multifaceted issue. Longstanding cultural practices of hunting and eating bushmeat make it difficult for consumers to acknowledge potential health and ecologic risks. Also, US merchants selling African goods, including bushmeat, in their stores have caused confusion among importers as to whether importation is truly illegal. Enhancing routine surveillance for bushmeat and consistent enforcement of penalties at all ports of entry, along with health education aimed at bushmeat importers, might be useful to deter illegal importation.

Impact of Port of Entry Referrals on Initiation of Follow-Up Evaluations for Immigrants with Suspected Tuberculosis: Illinois

US-bound immigrants with suspected non-infectious TB are encouraged to be medically re-evaluated after arrival in the United States. We evaluated the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's immigrant referral process, designed to facilitate timely post-arrival evaluations. Over 1,200 immigrants with suspected TB arriving during October 1, 2008-September 30, 2010 were identified. In 2011, differences in days to evaluation initiation were assessed by referral type using survival analysis and Cox proportional hazard models. Among those receiving any referral, median time to post-arrival evaluation was significantly lower compared with immigrants receiving no referral (16 vs. 69days, respectively; p<0.0001). After adjusting for the covariates, immigrants receiving any referral initiated follow-up at 4 times the rate (adjusted hazard ratio=4.0; p<0.0001) of those receiving no referral. Implementing a referral system at US ports of entry will improve timeliness and increase the proportion of immigrants initiating domestic evaluation.

Attitudes and Behaviors of International Air Travelers Toward Pandemic Influenza

Air travelers play a significant role in the spread of novel strains of influenza viruses; however, little is understood about the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of international air travelers toward pandemic influenza in relation to public health interventions and personal protective behaviors at overseas destinations. Prior to the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, we surveyed a convenience sample of 404 departing international travelers at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. Presented with a hypothetical pandemic influenza scenario occurring overseas, the participants predicted their anticipated protective behaviors while abroad and recorded their attitudes toward potential screening measures at US ports of entry (POE). The survey also qualitatively explored factors that would influence compliance with health entry screening at POE. Those who perceived pandemic influenza to be serious were more likely to state that they would be comfortable with screening (p = 0.006), and if they had influenza-like illness (ILI) overseas, would be more willing to see a physician and delay return travel (p = 0.006 and 0.002, respectively). Other demographic variables, including age and race, were associated with protective behaviors in response to ILI. Travelers also identified diverse information requirements which would influence their behavior in response to entry screening, including characteristics of the pandemic, severity of illness, and screening operations. Demographic characteristics and perceived severity of illness are important factors that may influence the protective behaviors of travelers overseas. Our results indicate that educational material and advice directed to international travelers could be differentially tailored to traveler subpopulations.

Magnitude of the US trade in amphibians and presence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and ranavirus infection in imported North American bullfrogs ( Rana catesbeiana)

Amphibians are globally threatened by anthropogenic habitat loss, the wildlife trade and emerging diseases. Previous authors have hypothesized that the spread of the amphibian disease chytridiomycosis ( Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) and amphibian ranaviruses are associated with the international trade in live amphibians . The North American bullfrog ( Rana catesbeiana) is thought to be a carrier of these pathogens, is globally traded as a live commodity, and is sold live in US markets. We obtained importation data for all live amphibians, and parts thereof, into three major US ports of entry (Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York) from 2000 to 2005. Importation of live amphibians into these ports totaled almost 28 million individuals over this 6-year period. We collected samples from freshly-imported market frogs and found infection with both pathogens in all three cities and all seasons, with an overall infection prevalence of 62% (306/493) and 8.5% (50/588) for B. dendrobatidis and ranaviruses, respectively, by PCR. This study definitively identifies these two important pathogens in recently imported live market frogs and suggests that the amphibian trade can contribute to introductions of these pathogens into new regions. It provides support for the recent listing of B. dendrobatidis and ranaviral diseases by the OIE, and provides evidence for measures to be taken to eradicate these pathogens from the trade.

Exotic bark- and wood-boring Coleoptera in the United States: recent establishments and interceptions

Summary data are given for the 25 new species of exotic bark- and wood-boring Coleoptera first reported in the continental United States between 1985 and 2005, including 2 Buprestidae (Agrilus planipennis and Agrilus prionurus), 5 Cerambycidae (Anoplophora glabripennis, Callidiellum rufipenne, Phoracantha recurva, Sybra alternans, and Tetrops praeusta), and 18 Scolytidae (Ambrosiodmus lewisi, Euwallacea fornicatus, Hylastes opacus, Hylurgops palliatus, Hylurgus ligniperda, Orthotomicus erosus, Phloeosinus armatus, Pityogenes bidentatus, Scolytus schevyrewi, Tomicus piniperda, Xyleborinus alni, Xyleborus atratus, Xyleborus glabratus, Xyleborus pelliculosus, Xyleborus pfeilii, Xyleborus seriatus, Xyleborus similis, and Xylosandrus mutilatus). In addition, summary interception data are presented for the wood-associated beetles in the families Bostrichidae, Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, Curculionidae, Lyctidae, Platypodidae, and Scolytidae, based on the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service "Port Information Network" database for plant pests intercepted at US ports of entry from 1985 to 2000. Wood-associated insects were most often intercepted on crating, followed by dunnage and pallets. The five imported products most often associated with these 8341 interceptions were tiles, machinery, marble, steel, and ironware. A significantly higher proportion of the most frequently intercepted true bark beetles have become established in the United States compared with the less frequently intercepted species.

Interceptions of Nonindigenous Plant Pests at US Ports of Entry and Border Crossings Over a 17-year Period

Despite the substantial impacts of nonindigenous plant pests and weeds, relatively little is known about the pathways by which these organisms arrive in the U.S. One source of such information is the Port Information Network (PIN) database, maintained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) since 1984. The PIN database is comprised of records of pests intercepted by APHIS personnel during inspections of travelers’ baggage, cargo, conveyances and related items arriving at U.S. ports of entry and border crossings. Each record typically includes the taxonomic identify of the pest, its country of origin, and information related to the commodity and interception site. We summarized more than 725,000 pest interceptions recorded in PIN from 1984 to 2000 to examine origins, interception sites and modes of transport for nonindigenous insects, mites, mollusks, nematodes, plant pathogens and weeds. Roughly 62% of intercepted pests were associated with baggage, 30% were associated with cargo and 7% were associated with plant propagative material. Pest interceptions occurred most commonly at airports (73%), U.S.-Mexico land border crossings (13%) and marine ports (9%). Insects dominated the database, comprising 73 to 84% of the records annually, with the orders Homoptera, Lepidoptera and Diptera collectively accounting for over 75% of the insect records. Plant pathogens, weeds and mollusks accounted for 13, 7 and 1.5% of all pest records, respectively, while mites and nematodes comprised less than 1% of the records. Pests were intercepted from at least 259 different locations. Common origins included Mexico, Central and South American countries, the Caribbean and Asia. Within specific commodity pathways, richness of the pest taxa generally increased linearly with the number of interceptions. Application of PIN data for statistically robust predictions is limited by nonrandom sampling protocols, but the data provide a valuable historical record of the array of nonindigenous organisms transported to the U.S. through international trade and travel.

Arrival rate of nonindigenous insect species into the United States through foreign trade

Introductions of invasive nonindigenous species, and the ensuing negative ecological and economic consequences, have increased with expanding global trade. Quantifying the influx of nonindigenous plant pest species through foreign trade is required for national and international risk assessments, monitoring and conservation efforts, and evaluation of ecological factors that affect invasion success. Here we use statistically robust data collected at US ports of entry and border crossings to estimate arrival rates of nonindigenous insect species via four cargo pathways and to evaluate the effectiveness of current efforts to monitor arrival of nonindigenous insect species. Interception rates were highest in refrigerated maritime cargo where a new insect species was intercepted on average every 54 inspections. Projected estimates of insect species richness stabilized only for non-refrigerated maritime cargo and US–Mexico border cargo, where inspectors likely detected 19–2% and 30–50% of the species being transported through these respective pathways. Conservative estimates of establishment suggest that 42 insect species may have become established through these four pathways between 1997 and 2001.

An Evaluation of the USDA Preshipment Clearance Program for Propagative Material1)

AbstractOne of the programs utilized by PPQ‐APHIS‐USDA2) to prevent the introduction of hazardous pests and pathogens is known as preclearance. Preclearance relies more on inspection at origin than it does on inspection upon arrival or entry into the United States. Two such programs have been developed by PPQ for plant materials. One, established in 1951, is for bulbs, while the other, established in 1975, is for a few ornamental crops. The USDA, in co‐operation with the Plant Protection Services of the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Fed. Rep. of Germany, Israel and South Africa, has been performing preclearance for bulbous plant propagative materials. Flower bulbs are being precleared in all of the above countries at the request of the exporter's groups of the respective countries. The objective of this clearance is to facilitate the entry of this material, reduce the chances of introducing plant pests and diseases into the United States, and save APHIS manpower at US ports of entry. This is achieved by having USDA personnel working cooperatively with foreign plant protection services in the inspection of material in the field and packing houses in the country of origin. Detection and elimination of plant pests and diseases is a co‐operative effort for mutual benefit of both parties.