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US suspends 'green card' lottery after deadly attack at Brown University

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the decision on Thursday, after noting that Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente, a Portuguese national and suspect in the attack, was granted permanent residency in 2017 through the Diversity Visa Program (DV1).

U.S. permanent residency card (File)

U.S. permanent residency card (File)AFP

Diane Hernández
Published by
Diane Hernández

The Trump Administration immediately suspended the Diversity Visa Program—commonly known as the green card lottery—after authorities confirmed that the alleged perpetrator of the Brown University shooting entered the country thanks to this immigration system.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the decision Thursday, after noting that Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente, a Portuguese citizen and suspect in the attack, obtained permanent residency in 2017 thanks to this program.

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"At the direction of President Trump, I am immediately ordering USCIS to pause the DV1 program to ensure that no other Americans are harmed by this disastrous program," Noem stated on social media.

Neves-Valente is accused of murdering two Brown University students and is also a suspect in the homicide of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor. He was found dead in a New Hampshire state storage facility Thursday, along with two firearms.

Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez confirmed that the man committed suicide, ending a search that had generated national alarm.

What is the Diversity Visa Program?

The Diversity Visa Program, created in 1990, allows the annual granting of up to 50,000 residence permits to citizens of countries with low immigration rates to the United States. The beneficiaries are selected by lottery, although they must meet eligibility requirements, pass exams and pass a consular interview.

Each year, millions of people participate in this system, now harshly questioned by the White House and suspended indefinitely after one of the most serious episodes of violence recorded on a U.S. university campus in recent years.

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