Migration Jurisprudence from the South › United States
Graham v. Richardson
Supreme Court of the United States · United States · 1971-06-14 · National court
Citation: 403 U.S. 365
Type of case: Constitutional and human rights
Outcome: Decided for the migrant side
Question
May states deny welfare benefits to lawfully resident non-citizens or impose long residence requirements on them?
What the court decided
No. Classifications based on alienage are inherently suspect and these restrictions breached equal protection.
In plain language
Arizona and Pennsylvania denied welfare to non-citizen residents. The Supreme Court said treating lawful residents worse because they are not citizens needs strong justification, which was missing.
Dalam bahasa sederhana
Arizona dan Pennsylvania menolak tunjangan sosial bagi penduduk bukan warga negara. MA menyatakan memperlakukan penduduk sah lebih buruk karena bukan warga negara butuh alasan kuat, yang tidak ada.
Pertanyaan: Bolehkah negara bagian menolak tunjangan sosial bagi bukan warga negara yang tinggal sah atau mensyaratkan masa tinggal panjang?
What happened afterwards
- 1971-06-14: Judgment.
- 1996: Federal welfare reform restricts benefits for many non-citizens.
Sources
Open this decision in the interactive collection (compare, filter, Indonesian view, downloads).
Cite as: Institute for Migrant Rights (2026), Migration Jurisprudence from the South, version 0.1, https://theimr.org/court-decisions/d/us-graham-1971/. This page summarizes a court decision for research and advocacy; it is not legal advice.