The administration of President Donald Trump has suspended the United States’ diversity visa, popularly known as the green card lottery, following a mass shooting linked to a beneficiary of the programme.
US Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, announced the decision on Thursday, saying the suspect in the attack entered the country through the diversity visa scheme.
The suspect, identified as Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national, was accused of storming a building at Brown University on December 13 and opening fire on students sitting examinations, killing two people and injuring nine others.
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Authorities also accused him of killing a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology two days later.
How Neves Valente Entered the United States Using Lottery Visa
In a post on social media, Noem said Neves Valente “entered the United States through the diversity lottery immigrant visa program (DV1) in 2017 and was granted a green card.”
“At President Trump’s direction, I am immediately instructing USCIS to pause the DV1 program to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program,” she said.
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“This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country.”
Police said Neves Valente was later found dead from an apparent suicide after a days-long manhunt.
The US diversity visa programme grants up to 55,000 permanent resident visas each year to applicants from countries with historically low levels of immigration to the United States, according to the State Department.
Applicants must have at least a high school education or its equivalent, or two years of work or training experience, and are required to undergo a vetting process that includes an interview.
AFP
Rafiyat Sadiq is a political, justice, and human rights reporter with Pinnacle Daily, known for fearless reporting and impactful storytelling. At Pinnacle Daily, she brings clarity and depth to issues shaping governance, democracy, and the protection of citizens’ rights.
