422
Opinion of the Court
the bus. Passengers who refused were stoned, hit with sticks, or bound with ropes. Id., at 46-47. In addition, respondent testified that he and his group "would break the windows of . . . stores," "t[ake] the people out of the stores that were there," and "throw everything on the floor." Id., at 48.
The Immigration Judge granted respondent's applications for withholding of deportation and for asylum, finding a likelihood of persecution for his political opinions and activities if he was returned to Guatemala. App. to Pet. for Cert. 31a-32a. The INS appealed to the BIA. Respondent did not file a brief with the BIA, although his request for an extension of time to do so was granted. Brief for Petitioner 10, n. 6; Record 13-15. The BIA sustained the INS's appeal from this decision, vacated the Immigration Judge's order, and ordered respondent deported. App. to Pet. for Cert. 18a. With respect to withholding, the BIA did not decide whether respondent had established the requisite risk of persecution because it determined that, in any event, he had committed a serious nonpolitical crime within the meaning of § 1253(h)(2)(C).
In addressing the definition of a serious nonpolitical crime, the BIA applied the interpretation it first set forth in Matter of McMullen, 19 I. & N. Dec., at 97-98: "In evaluating the political nature of a crime, we consider it important that the political aspect of the offense outweigh its common-law character. This would not be the case if the crime is grossly out of proportion to the political objective or if it involves acts of an atrocious nature." In the instant case, the BIA found, "the criminal nature of the respondent's acts outweigh their political nature." App. to Pet. for Cert. 18a. The BIA acknowledged respondent's dissatisfaction with the Guatemalan Government's "seeming inaction in the investigation of student deaths and in its raising of student bus fares." Ibid. It said, however: "The ire of the ES manifested itself disproportionately in the destruction of property and
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