PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Diya TV) — The Trump administration has suspended the U.S. diversity visa lottery program following a deadly campus shooting at Brown University that left two students dead and nine others injured. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the move aims to protect public safety after authorities confirmed the suspect entered the United States through the program.
The decision has reignited debate over the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, also known as the DV program or green card lottery, which offers up to 50,000 visas each year to people from countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S.
Noem said late Thursday that she ordered U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to pause the DV1 program immediately. She announced the decision on social media, calling the program “disastrous” and claiming it has put Americans at risk. She said the suspension followed the Brown University shooting and the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor days later. Authorities identified the suspect as 48-year-old Portuguese national Claudio Manuel Neves Valente.
According to Noem, Valente entered the U.S. through the diversity visa lottery in 2017 and later received a green card. She said President Donald Trump directed the pause and supported ending the program during his first term.
The violence began on Dec. 13, when a gunman opened fire inside a physics and engineering building at Brown University during final exams. Police said two students died at the scene, and nine others suffered gunshot wounds. The victims were identified as Ella Cook, 19, a sophomore from Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, a first-year student and Uzbek-American.
Brown University President Christina H. Paxson said Valente once studied at the Ivy League school. He enrolled in a physics Ph.D. program in the fall of 2000 and left the following spring. Paxson said he had no active ties to the university.
Two days after the Brown shooting, authorities believe Valente shot and killed MIT physics professor Nuno F. Gomes Loureiro, 47, at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts. Investigators said Valente and Loureiro studied at the same university in Portugal in the late 1990s. Officials believe the two cases are connected based on video evidence and witness tips. Police later tracked Valente’s rental vehicle through surveillance footage. The same car appeared near both crime scenes.
After a six-day, multi-state manhunt, authorities found Valente dead Thursday inside a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire. Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said investigators believe Valente died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Officers found two firearms and a satchel at the scene. Evidence inside a nearby car matched items recovered at Brown University, according to Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston said there is no ongoing threat to the public. Officials believe Valente acted alone. They have not released a motive for the attacks.
Noem linked the current case to past violence involving diversity visa recipients. She pointed to the 2017 New York City truck attack that killed eight people. Authorities later said the attacker, Sayfullo Saipov, entered the U.S. through the same visa program.
Trump attempted to end the diversity visa lottery during his first term, but Congress did not approve the change. The latest suspension does not require immediate legislative action, though long-term termination would.
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program aims to broaden immigration by offering visas through a random lottery. Eligible applicants come from countries with historically low immigration numbers to the U.S. Supporters say the program promotes fairness and legal immigration. Critics argue it lacks sufficient screening and poses security risks.
The Department of Homeland Security has not said how long the pause will last. Immigration advocates and lawmakers are expected to challenge the decision in court.
