18
Per Curiam
the March cease-fire, guerrillas continued to employ death threats" and (2) "the level of crime and violence now seems to be higher than in the recent past." Id., at 3-4. Yet the report itself qualifies these statements. As to the second, the report (as the Court of Appeals noted) says: "Although the level of crime and violence now seems to be higher than in the recent past, the underlying motivation in most asylum cases now appears to stem from common crime and/or personal vengeance," i. e., not politics. Id., at 4 (emphasis added). And the report (in sections to which the Court of Appeals did not refer) adds that in the context of claims based on political opinion, in "our experience, only party leaders or high-profile activists generally would be vulnerable to such harassment and usually only in their home communities." Id., at 8. This latter phrase "only in their home communities" is particularly important in light of the fact that an individual who can relocate safely within his home country ordinarily cannot qualify for asylum here. See 8 CFR § 208.13(b)(1)(i) (2002).
Second, remand could lead to the presentation of further evidence of current circumstances in Guatemala—evidence that may well prove enlightening given the five years that have elapsed since the report was written. See §§ 3.1, 3.2 (permitting the BIA to reopen the record and to remand to the Immigration Judge as appropriate).
III
We conclude that the Court of Appeals should have applied the ordinary "remand" rule. We grant the Government's petition for certiorari. We reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit insofar as it denies remand to the agency. And we remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
So ordered.
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