Columbus' unaccompanied migrant children

Explore the interactive map . Data: U.S. Department of Human Health and Services via N.Y. Times ; Note: Includes places that have received at least 100 unaccompanied migrant children; Map: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

Columbus received 1,628 of the 530,000-plus unaccompanied migrant children who arrived in U.S. cities between 2015 and 2023, mostly from Central America, according to new federal data.

Why it matters: The children are an especially vulnerable group as federal, state and city leaders spar over sheltering foreigners and asylum seekers who have crossed the border without permission.

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By the numbers: Cincinnati also received a sizable share of unaccompanied kids during this time span (2,789), while Dayton and Canton welcomed 522 and 368, respectively, per the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

• The data comes from their sponsors' ZIP codes, obtained by the New York Times through a Freedom of Information Act request as part of an investigation into exploited child workers.

The big picture: Our numbers pale in comparison to major cities closer to the southern border, such as Houston (32,000), Los Angeles (12,700) and Dallas (8,500).

Data: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services via N.Y. Times ; Chart: Axios Visuals

Yes, but: Even here, more than a thousand miles away from the southern border, immigration has become a focal point in our state's high-profile U.S. Senate race .

• A dark money group aligned with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell rolled out a new $4 million ad buy in Ohio this month, slamming Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) for voting to "spend our tax dollars on illegal immigrants."
• Every ad the group has run in Ohio this election cycle has been border-focused, Axios' Stef W. Knight reports .

Between the lines: Americans are increasingly skeptical of outsiders, a recent Axios Harris Poll survey found, "partly based on misconceptions about immigrants committing crimes and seeking welfare benefits, both of which are largely untrue," Axios' Russell Contreras has reported.

The bottom line: While addressing the border is dominating political discourse, hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied kids are already here and looking to elected officials for help and protection.