Data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security shows the number of foreigners who were deported from the U.S. last year grew ten percent from 2008 to a seven-year record of nearly 400-thousand last year.

The data shows that of the 400-thousand, 364 were either North or South Korean, down 16 percent from 434 in 2008.

Of the expelled Koreans, 123 were found to have been involved in crimes, while the remaining were ordered to leave the U.S. for noncriminal reasons.

People from eight Central and South American countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Honduras, Guatemala and Brazil accounted for a combined 94 percent of all the foreigners deported by the U.S.

The department released an annual immigration report for 2009 on Wednesday that shows more than one-point-eight million foreigners are staying in the U.S. on a long-term basis, 140-thousand of which are either North or South Korean.