In Nyquist v. Mauclet, 432 U.S. 1 (1977), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled by a 5-4 margin that a New York statute barring certain resident aliens from state financial assistance for higher education, N. Y. Educ. Law ยง 661(3), was unconstitutional. Justice Harry Blackmun, writing for the Court, held that the challenged statute violates the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection guarantee. He even hinted that the state law may intrude upon Congress' comprehensive authority over immigration and naturalization, citing Graham v. Richardson, 403 U.S. 365, 372 (1971) and Truax v. Raich, 239 U.S. 33, 42 (1915).