The Single-Scheme Exception to Criminal Deportations and the Case for Chevron's Step Two

In 1992, the State of Georgia convicted Akintunde Taofik Animashaun of 2 counts of criminal forgery. Both of Animashaun's crimes resulted from actions he took as part of a plan to steal some furniture. Because Animashaun was a native and citizen of Nigeria who had entered the US in 1981 as a student, his 2 crimes enabled the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to institute deportation proceedings against him on its authority to deport aliens who commit multiple crimes. The deportation provision provides an exception, however, for those aliens who commit multiple crimes arising out of a single scheme of criminal misconduct. The INS contended that the exception applies only when an alien's multiple crimes arise out of a single act, not a single plan as contended by Animashaun. An immigration judge agreed with the INS's interpretation. Animashaun appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) which affirmed the immigration judge's decision. A discussion applies the 2-step analysis in the landmark case of Chevron Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council Inc. (1984) to the single-scheme exception and argues that courts should reject the BIA's single-act test.