The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has announced the immediate suspension of the Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery Programme following the Brown University shooting, which authorities say involved a suspect who entered the United States through the scheme.
The visa lottery, officially known as the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, awards approximately 50,000 immigrant visas annually to applicants from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States.
Suspect Entered US Through Lottery Programme
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem on Friday confirmed that President Trump had ordered the programme’s termination after it emerged that the shooting suspect had obtained permanent residency through the lottery.
Noem identified the suspect as Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a Portuguese national who received a green card in 2017 after successfully applying through the DV lottery.
“This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” Noem wrote in a statement shared on social media.
Immediate Directive to USCIS
At President Trump’s direction, Noem said she had instructed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to halt the programme with immediate effect.
“I am immediately directing USCIS to pause the DV1 program to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program,” she stated.
The decision marks one of the most aggressive immigration policy actions taken by the Trump administration since returning to office, reinforcing its long-standing opposition to the lottery system, which critics argue lacks sufficient vetting.
The Department of Homeland Security has not yet clarified whether current lottery applicants or approved beneficiaries will be affected by the directive.
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