Cite as: 526 U. S. 415 (1999)
Opinion of the Court
We turn to the matter before us. In 1994, respondent was charged with deportability by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for illegal entry into the United States. Respondent conceded deportability but applied for asylum and withholding. At a hearing before an Immigration Judge respondent testified, through an interpreter, that he had been politically active in Guatemala from 1989 to 1992 with a student group called Estudeante Syndicado (ES) and with the National Central Union political party. App. 19-20, 36-37. He testified about threats due to his political activity. The threats, he believed, were from different quarters, including the Guatemalan Government, right-wing government support groups, and left-wing guerillas. App. to Pet. for Cert. 23a.
Respondent described activities he and other ES members engaged in to protest various government policies and actions, including the high cost of bus fares and the govern-ment's failure to investigate the disappearance or murder of students and others. App. 20-21; App. to Pet. for Cert. 22a-23a. For purposes of our review, we assume that the amount of bus fares is an important political and social issue in Guatemala. We are advised that bus fare represents a significant portion of many Guatemalans' annual living expense, and a rise in fares may impose substantial economic hardship. See Brief for Massachusetts Law Reform Institute et al. as Amicus Curiae 18-19. In addition, government involvement with fare increases, and other aspects of the transportation system, has been a focus of political discontent in that country. Id., at 16-21.
According to the official hearing record, respondent testified that he and his fellow members would "strike" by "burning buses, breaking windows or just attacking the police, police cars." App. 20. Respondent estimated that he participated in setting about 10 buses on fire, after dousing them with gasoline. Id., at 46. Before setting fire to the buses, he and his group would order passengers to leave
421
Page: Index Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007