US Suspends Diversity Visa Program After Fatal Shootings
President Donald Trump has suspended the US diversity immigrant visa program (DV1) following a mass shooting at Brown University last week that resulted in two fatalities. The alleged suspect, 48-year-old Portuguese national Claudio Neves Valente, who was found deceased on Thursday, had entered the United States through this program in 2017 and obtained a green card.
Program Suspension and Official Statements
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the pause of the visa scheme, stating it was under President Trump's direction. Secretary Noem commented that the suspect "should never have been allowed in our country" and that the pause aims to "ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous programme."
US officials also stated their belief that Claudio Neves Valente was responsible for the earlier killing of Nuno Loureiro, a Portuguese professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program
The DV1 program annually makes available up to 50,000 immigrant visas. These visas are allocated through a random selection process among individuals from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States.
Secretary Noem recalled President Trump's previous advocacy to terminate the program in 2017, following a truck-ramming attack in New York City that killed eight people. She noted that Sayfullo Saipov, an Uzbekistan national and Islamic State supporter who perpetrated that attack, also entered the US via the DV1 scheme.
Investigation and Suspect's Discovery
Secretary Noem's statements were made shortly after Claudio Neves Valente was discovered deceased in a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire. Police believe the cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The discovery concluded a six-day multi-state manhunt.
Investigators identified Valente as a person of interest through video evidence and public tips, which led them to a car rental location. He was found with a satchel and two firearms. According to Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, evidence located in a nearby vehicle matched the scene of the Brown University shooting in Providence.