The United States government has suspended its green card diversity lottery program following revelations that the suspect behind a deadly campus shooting entered the country through the scheme.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the decision on Thursday, linking the program to Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese citizen accused of carrying out a mass shooting at Brown University. According to investigators, Valente stormed a campus building on December 13 and opened fire on students during an examination period, killing two people and injuring nine others.
Authorities further allege that Valente was responsible for the killing of a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) two days after the Brown University attack.
In a statement shared on social media, Noem said Valente immigrated to the United States in 2017 through the Diversity Visa (DV1) lottery and later obtained permanent resident status. Acting on President Donald Trump’s directive, she said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has been ordered to halt the program with immediate effect.
This individual should never have been allowed into the country,” Noem said, describing the lottery system as a serious threat to public safety.
Law enforcement officials confirmed that Valente was found dead by suicide on Thursday evening after a nationwide manhunt that lasted several days.
The diversity visa lottery allows up to 55,000 people each year to obtain permanent residency in the United States, targeting applicants from countries with low immigration rates. To qualify, applicants must meet education or work experience requirements and undergo background checks and interviews as part of the vetting process.
The suspension of the program is expected to spark renewed debate over U.S. immigration policy and national security.
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