Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said the diversity visa lottery program will be suspended after a man accused of killing two Brown University students and an MIT professor was found to have used the system to enter the U.S.
The Green Card Lottery Program, officially called the Diversity Visa (DV) Program, randomly awards up to 55,000 permanent resident visas each year to people from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. Winners are selected by a lottery, but must still meet education, work, and background requirements to receive a green card.
Authorities identified the Brown University shooting suspect as Claudio Valente, 48, a former student at the university. Officials said he died by suicide and was later found in a storage unit in Salem, New Hampshire. The attack left two students dead and nine others injured.
Responding to the shooting, Noem wrote on X: “This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country. At President Trump’s direction, I am immediately directing USCIS to pause the DV1 program to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program.”
Federal prosecutors said late Thursday that investigators believe Valente also carried out the fatal shooting of an MIT professor, Nuno Loureiro, in Massachusetts on Monday.
This is a developing story. More to follow.
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