Asylum seekers from Mauritania are settling in Cincinnati as immigration to the United States has soared

From the article:

Last year, at least 15,500 residents from Mauritania arrived in the United States, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data analyzed by The Washington Post. The influx represents a 2,800 percent increase compared with 2022, when just 543 arrived.

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Cincinnati has a reputation for welcoming immigrants from distant lands. In 2016, the city offered new arrivals identification cards to access basic city services. Then-Mayor John Cranley said he wanted to make Cincinnati “the most immigrant friendly city in the country.” The city’s mayor today, Aftab Pureval, is the son of immigrants from India and Tibet.

But the arrival of so many people in such a short time has tested that goodwill. Cincinnati does not have a welcoming program comparable to initiatives in bigger cities like Chicago and New York, where immigrants have been offered housing in hotels and shelters. Instead, the new arrivals from Mauritania are relying on fellow immigrants to offer them a first home in America, and on charitable organizations that are already stretched thin.

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“It’s not uncommon to find apartments with 10 or 14 people in a two-bedroom apartment,” said Ousmane Sow, a Cincinnati community activist and Mauritania native. “And it’s all because none of us want to see Mauritanians out in the streets.”