With these groups, Aguirre protested bus fares and the Guatemalan government's failure to investigate the murders and disappearances of other students.

The BIA concluded that even if Aguirre had established the requisite level of persecution, see INS v. Stevic, 467 U.S. 407 (1984), he had committed a "serious nonpolitical crime" and was thus ineligible for withholding of deportation under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

Generally, withholding of deportation is required if it is more likely than not that the alien would be persecuted in his home country on account of one of the protected grounds.

[citation needed] The Ninth Circuit did not disagree that the "serious political offense" exception to mandatory withholding was the proper framework under which to analyze the case.

The Court clarified that this threshold inquiry, called the "Chevron deference", applies to questions regarding the BIA's interpretations of parts of the Immigration and Nationality Act, including the "serious political offense" exception.

This conclusion was consistent with the text of the statute, as it "is not obvious that an already-completed crime is somehow rendered less serious by considering the future circumstance that the alien may be subject to persecution if returned to his home country."

10 noted on May 15, 1999 that a "Motion to Reopen was pending at the BIA on the issue of interpretation and transcript errors, thus leaving open the possibility that on remand, the Ninth Circuit may in time be reviewing the results of a new hearing with a new set of facts".