President Donald Trump has suspended the U.S. green card lottery scheme following a mass shooting at Brown University that left two students dead. The suspect, identified as Claudio Neves Valente, entered the country through the diversity visa lottery in 2017 and was granted a green card. Trump directed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to halt the program to prevent future harm from what she called a “disastrous” system.
The DV1 visa scheme, which allows up to 50,000 green cards to be issued annually via a random lottery to citizens of countries with low immigration rates to the U.S., has come under scrutiny. Noem noted that Trump had previously attempted to end the program after the 2017 truck-ramming attack in New York City, which was carried out by an attacker who also entered the U.S. through the DV1 program.
Claudio Neves Valente’s Deadly Path
Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national, was found dead on Thursday in a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, from what authorities believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police connected him to a six-day manhunt after tips from the public and video footage led investigators to his rental car, confirming his involvement in both the Brown University shooting and the killing of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro.
Tied to a Tragic History at Brown University
The suspect was enrolled at Brown University in the early 2000s, studying for a PhD in physics, but had no current ties to the institution. Christina Paxson, the university’s president, confirmed his past enrollment, while Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha linked the shooting to evidence found in Valente’s car.
Brown University became the scene of the tragic shooting on December 13, during finals week. Ella Cook, 19, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, were killed, and nine others were injured. Just two days earlier, Valente was believed to have killed Loureiro at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Authorities Confirm Shooting Link
Police later identified the same vehicle near both crime scenes: Brown University and Loureiro’s home. The two men, both from Portugal, had studied together at the same university in the late 1990s, adding another layer to this chilling case.
Despite ongoing investigations, authorities have not confirmed a motive for the attacks. The deaths at Brown University have shocked the academic community, leaving many to question how a tragedy like this could happen during such a vulnerable time.
