According to a United Nations’ report released in 2010 entitled Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries, there were 377,000 applications for asylum worldwide in 2009.

The United States remained the main destination country for the fourth year in a row, receiving 13% of all asylum applications (a percentage that roughly equates to 49,000 applications).

Afghans topped the list of worldwide asylum applications with 26,800 submissions, a 45% increase since 2008. Iraqis were second with about 24,000 claims and Somalis took third with 22,6000 asylum applications. Also among the top countries of origin were the Russian Federation, China, Serbia, and Nigeria. In terms of regions of origin, nearly half of the total 377,000 applicants originate from Asia and the Middle East (45%), followed by Africa (29%), Europe (15.5%), and the Americas (9%).

The National Immigration Forum reported that in fiscal year 2009, nearly 12,000 asylum applications were approved by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) asylum officers, while an additional 10,000 gained asylum in defensive applications. If one takes the number of accepted applications and compares it to the total number of asylum-seekers in the United States, one finds that only 24.5% of asylum-seekers who submit an application managed to obtain asylum. When asylum-seekers arrive in the United States they are often detained by USCIS officials and sent to detention centers.

Amnesty International’s U.S. branch claimed that in 2008 more than 311,000 immigrants were held in detention facilities. Of this 311,000, it is estimated that 10% are asylum-seekers. Eight of these detention facilities are operated by the federal government, others by private prison corporations or local counties. Those detained include both individuals and whole families, including young children.