416
Syllabus
answer is based on a permissible construction of the statute." Chevron, supra, at 843. It is clear that Chevron deference applies to this statutory scheme. The Attorney General is charged with the INA's administration and enforcement, and § 1253(h) expressly makes an alien's entitlement to withholding turn on the Attorney General's determination whether the statutory conditions for withholding have been met. Judicial deference to the Executive Branch is especially appropriate in the immigration context. INS v. Abudu, 485 U. S. 94, 110. The BIA, which is vested with the Attorney General's discretion and authority in cases before it, should be accorded Chevron deference when it gives ambiguous statutory terms meaning through a process of case-by-case adjudication. INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca, 480 U. S. 421, 448-449. Pp. 423-425.
(b) The Ninth Circuit's error is clearest with respect to its holding that the BIA must balance respondent's criminal acts against his risk of persecution in Guatemala. The BIA has rejected any such interpretation, and § 1253(h)'s text and structure are consistent with that conclusion. By its terms, the statute requires independent consideration of the persecution risk facing an alien before granting withholding. It is reasonable to decide, as the BIA has done, that this factor can be considered on its own and not also as a factor in determining whether the crime itself is serious and nonpolitical. A United Nations handbook relied on by the Ninth Circuit is not binding on the Attorney General, the BIA, or the United States courts. Pp. 425-428.
(c) The Ninth Circuit erred in finding that the BIA should have considered whether respondent's acts were grossly disproportionate to their alleged objective and atrocious in light of Circuit precedent. The BIA does not dispute that such considerations may be important in applying the serious nonpolitical crime exception. However, the BIA's formulation does not purport to provide a comprehensive definition of the exception, and the standard's full elaboration should await further cases. The BIA's test identifies the general standard whether an offense's political aspect outweighs its common-law character and then provides two specific inquiries that may be used in applying the rule: whether there is a gross disproportion between means and ends, and whether the acts are atrocious. Although an offense involving atrocious acts will result in denial of withholding, an offense's criminal element may outweigh its political aspect even if none of the acts are atrocious. Thus, the BIA did not need to give express consideration to atrociousness before determining that respondent had committed serious nonpolitical crimes. This approach is consistent with the statute, which does not equate every serious nonpolitical crime with atro-
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