Washington: The Trump administration has taken the decisive step of suspending the United States green card lottery, a program that has been in place for years offering a pathway to residency for thousands. This suspension was announced by US Homeland Security Chief Kristi Noem, following a tragic incident involving a suspect in a mass shooting at Brown University.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national, is accused of carrying out a deadly attack at the Ivy League institution on December 13. The attack resulted in the death of two students and left nine others injured. Furthermore, Neves Valente is also accused of murdering a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) two days subsequent to the initial attack.
Noem revealed on social media that Neves Valente had entered the United States through the diversity lottery immigrant visa program (DV1) in 2017 and subsequently obtained a green card. Acting on President Trump's directive, she has instructed the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to pause the DV1 program, citing the need to prevent further harm to American citizens caused by individuals entering through this channel.
"This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country," Noem stated, emphasizing the administration's stance on tightening immigration controls to ensure national safety.
After a prolonged manhunt, authorities reported that Neves Valente was found dead by suicide, bringing an end to a tense and tragic chapter for the affected communities.
The US green card lottery, officially known as the Diversity Visa Program, traditionally grants up to 55,000 permanent resident visas each year to individuals from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. Applicants are required to have at least a high school education or two years of relevant work experience and must pass a vetting process, including an interview, before being granted entry into the country.