In United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S. 873 (1975), the Supreme Court considered "whether a roving patrol may stop a vehicle in an area near the border and question its occupants when the only ground for suspicion is that the occupants appear to be of Mexican ancestry." The Supreme Court concluded that "Mexican appearance" "standing alone . . . does not justify stopping all Mexican-Americans to ask if they are aliens." Id. at 887. The Supreme Court invalidated a roving patrol stop by Border Patrol agents near a closed checkpoint operation at the Mexican border. 422 U.S. at 886. In stopping the vehicle, the agents had relied on a single factor--"the apparent Mexican ancestry of the occupants." Id. at 885-86. As part of balancing the public interest with the motorist's rights, the Supreme Court outlined as the governmental interest preventing illegal aliens from entering this country. Id. at 878-80. However, despite the importance of that interest, the "modest" intrusion of a brief stop, and the absence of practical alternatives for policing the border, the Court found that the apparent Mexican heritage of the occupants did not provide reasonable suspicion for a stop. Id. at 881, 886. The Court stated, "The likelihood that any given person of Mexican ancestry is an alien is high enough to make Mexican appearance a relevant factor, but standing alone it does not justify stopping all Mexican-Americans to ask if they are aliens." Id. at 886-87.