US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on 19/12 that she instructed the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to suspend the Diversity Visa Program, commonly known as the "green card lottery". President Donald Trump directed this measure after officials identified the suspect in recent university shootings as having entered the US through this program. The program aims to promote diversity in permanent residency.
Noem stated on X, "The individual who committed that heinous crime should never have been allowed into the US", referring to the suspect, Portuguese citizen Claudio Neves Valente. Valente, 48, was accused of opening fire at Brown University on 13/12, killing two students and injuring 9 others. He then murdered an MIT professor at their home in Massachusetts. The suspect was later found to have died by suicide in a warehouse in Salem, New Hampshire on 18/12.
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US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Las Vegas on 22/11. *Photo: AP* |
Providence police stated Valente first entered the US in 2000 on a student visa and had studied at Brown University. In 2017, he immigrated under the Diversity Visa category, becoming a legal permanent resident a few months later. US officials have not identified his whereabouts and activities from when he left school in 2001 until he was granted the visa in 2017.
The green card lottery program issues up to 50,000 green cards annually through random draw. It is intended for citizens of countries with low immigration rates to the US, including many in Africa. As the program was passed by the US Congress, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)'s suspension decision is anticipated to face numerous legal challenges.
President Trump has long opposed diversity visa programs, viewing them as dangerous loopholes in immigration policy.
According to US government data, nearly 20 million people applied for the 2025 green card lottery. Over 131,000 were selected, including spouses of successful applicants. Portuguese citizens secured only 38 slots. Even after winning the lottery, applicants must still undergo screening and interview processes similar to other green card applications.
Thanh Danh (According to AFP, AP, Fox)
