420
Opinion of the Court
Fonseca, 480 U. S. 421, 428-429, n. 6 (1987). In addition, whereas withholding is mandatory unless the Attorney General determines one of the exceptions applies, the decision whether asylum should be granted to an eligible alien is committed to the Attorney General's discretion. Ibid. As a consequence, under the law then in force, respondent was able to seek asylum irrespective of his eligibility for withholding.
As an incidental point, we note that in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), Pub. L. 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009-546, Congress revised the withholding and asylum provisions. The withholding provisions are now codified at 8 U. S. C. § 1231(b)(3) (1994 ed., Supp. III), and the asylum provisions at § 1158. Under current law, as enacted by IIRIRA, the Attorney General may not grant asylum if she determines "there are serious reasons for believing that the alien has committed a serious nonpolitical crime outside the United States prior to the arrival of the alien in the United States." § 1158(b)(2)(A)(iii). The parties agree IIRIRA does not govern respondent's case. See IIRIRA, Tit. III-A, §§ 309(a), (c), 110 Stat. 3009-625; IIRIRA, Div. C, Tit. VI-A, § 604(c), 110 Stat. 3009-692. Prior to IIRIRA, in the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), Pub. L. 104-132, Tit. IV-B, § 413(f), 110 Stat. 1269, Congress granted the Attorney General discretion to withhold deportation when necessary to ensure compliance with the international treaty upon which the Refugee Act was based, see infra, at 427-429. This provision was made applicable to "applications filed before, on, or after" April 24, 1996, "if final action has not been taken on them before such date." AEDPA § 413(g), 110 Stat. 1269-1270. The BIA's decision constituted final action when rendered on March 5, 1996, 8 CFR § 243.1 (1995), App. to Pet. for Cert. 12a, so AEDPA § 413(f) was not applicable to respondent's case.
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