United States Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has announced the suspension of the green card diversity lottery, linking the decision to a suspect involved in a deadly shooting at Brown University.
The suspect, identified as 48-year-old Portuguese national Claudio Neves Valente, allegedly stormed a building at the Ivy League institution on December 13, opening fire on students who were writing examinations.
The attack left two people dead and nine others injured.
Authorities also accuse Neves Valente of fatally shooting a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology two days after the Brown University incident.
In a post shared on social media, Noem stated that Neves Valente “entered the United States through the diversity lottery immigrant visa program (DV1) in 2017 and was granted a green card.”
She added, “At President Trump’s direction, I am immediately directing USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) to pause the DV1 program to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program.”
“This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country.”
Police confirmed on Thursday evening that Neves Valente was later found dead from an apparent suicide following a manhunt that lasted several days.
The US diversity visa programme, commonly referred to as the green card lottery, allows up to 55,000 people each year to obtain permanent residency.
According to the State Department, the scheme targets applicants “from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.”
Eligibility requirements include having at least a secondary school education or a minimum of two years’ work or training experience. Applicants are also subjected to a screening process that includes an interview.
