In a decisive move, President Donald Trump has suspended the Diversity Visa Lottery program following a horrific shooting incident at Brown University, which left two students dead. The shooter, identified as Claudio Neves Valente, was previously granted entry to the United States through this immigration program in 2017.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that this decision aims to prevent further tragedies linked to the program, asserting it has potential risks to American safety. The two victims in the December 13 shooting were Ella Cook, 19, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18.
Federal officials believe Valente was also connected to the murder of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro, which occurred earlier in the same week. Noem shared on social media that past incidents had already raised concerns about the program, citing the case of Sayfullo Saipov, an immigrant who committed a deadly attack in New York in 2017 after entering through the same lottery scheme.
After a six-day manhunt, Valente was found dead in a storage unit in New Hampshire with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, alongside firearms believed to be related to the shootings. Authorities are still investigating the motive behind his actions but have confirmed the links to both violent incidents.
Brown University President Christina Paxson emphasized that while Valente had previously attended Brown for his PhD studies, he held no current affiliation with the institution at the time of the shooting.
The suspension of the Diversity Visa Lottery has ignited discussions about immigration policies in the U.S., as the program allocates up to 50,000 visas annually to individuals from countries with low immigration rates to the U.S. It remains to be seen how this temporary suspension will affect future immigration through this channel.
