AP/WASHINGTON The green card lottery procedure that permitted the suspect in the killings at Brown University and MIT to enter the country was canceled by President Donald Trump on Thursday.
In a post on the social media site X, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that she is directing US Citizenship and Immigration Services to halt the program at Trump's request.
Regarding the suspect, Portuguese national Claudio Neves Valente, she declared, "This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country."
Neves Valente, 48, is accused of being involved in both the murder of an MIT professor and the gunshots at Brown University that left two students dead and nine injured. According to authorities, he was discovered dead on Thursday night from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
According to Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley, Neves Valente was granted legal permanent residency status in 2017.
Through the diversity visa program, up to 50,000 green cards are awarded annually by lottery to citizens of underrepresented nations in the US, many of which are in Africa. Congress established the lottery, and there will almost certainly be legal challenges to the decision.
When spouses of the winners are taken into account, about 131,000 of the nearly 20 million applicants for the 2025 visa lottery were chosen. They have to go through screening after winning in order to be admitted to the US. Only 38 seats were won by Portuguese nationals.
The opportunity to apply for a green card is extended to lottery winners. They undergo the same screening and procedures as other applicants for green cards and are interviewed at consulates.
The diversity visa lottery has long been opposed by Trump. The most recent instance of utilizing tragedy to further immigration policy objectives is Noem's announcement. Trump's government placed broad restrictions on immigration from Afghanistan and other countries after an Afghan man was identified as the gunman in a deadly attack on National Guard personnel in November.
Trump has attempted to restrict or eradicate lawful immigration options while pushing mass deportations. If they are protected by the Constitution, such as the right to citizenship for anybody born in the United States, or by laws, such as the diversity visa lottery, he hasn't been discouraged. His claim against birthright citizenship was been granted a hearing by the Supreme Court.
0 Comments