Massachusetts, Boston, USA: During his first term in 2017, former President Donald Trump promised a series of strict actions aimed at reducing immigration, including ending the green card lottery, following a fatal terror incident in New York.
The Trump administration has now moved to suspend the green card lottery program after it was revealed that the individual suspected of carrying out a deadly shooting at Brown University and the murder of an MIT professor entered the United States through the program.
Authorities confirmed late on December 18 that the suspect, Claudio Neves Valente, a 48 year old man from Portugal, opened fire inside a building at the Ivy League campus, killing two students and injuring nine others over the weekend.
Police further stated that two days later, Neves Valente fatally shot a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with whom he had previously studied.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a social media post on December 18 that Neves Valente entered the United States in 2017 through the Diversity Visa lottery and later obtained lawful permanent resident status.
The green card lottery program issues up to 55,000 permanent residency visas each year to applicants from nations with historically low immigration levels to the United States, according to the State Department.
Noem described Neves Valente as a dangerous individual who should never have been permitted entry into the country. She added that, following President Trump’s directive, US Citizenship and Immigration Services has been ordered to immediately halt the DV1 program to prevent further harm.
Trump had previously cited similar concerns during his first term, renewing calls to eliminate the lottery system after a deadly attack in New York. Noem referenced that stance again in her December 18 statement.
US Attorney Leah Foley said during a press conference that Neves Valente studied at Brown University on an F1 student visa from approximately 2000 to 2021 and later secured permanent resident status. She did not provide additional details.
Foley also revealed that Neves Valente had attended the same academic program in Portugal between 1995 and 2000 as MIT professor Nuno Loureiro, who was shot and killed at his residence in Brookline, a suburb within the greater Boston area.
Investigators have not yet identified a clear motive behind the attacks that shook elite college campuses across New England.
Neves Valente’s body was discovered inside a storage facility in New Hampshire along with two firearms. Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez stated on December 18 that the suspect died by suicide and is believed to have acted alone.
Portugal’s Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel expressed deep sorrow upon learning that the primary suspect, now deceased, was a Portuguese citizen. Portuguese authorities confirmed they are cooperating with US investigators.
The two students killed at Brown University were identified as Ella Cook, vice president of the campus Republican association, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, a student originally from Uzbekistan.
University President Christina Paxson said that six of the injured victims remain hospitalized in stable condition, while three others have been discharged.
Officials acknowledged growing frustration during the multi day search for the suspect. The investigation advanced after authorities traced financial records and analyzed surveillance footage from both crime scenes.
Efforts to Conceal Evidence
Police Chief Perez explained that investigative work conducted in Providence helped establish key connections in the case.
Foley noted that Neves Valente took deliberate steps to avoid detection, including changing license plates on a rental car and using a mobile phone that proved difficult for investigators to trace.
The United States has recorded more than 300 mass shooting incidents this year involving four or more victims.
Despite these figures, legislative efforts to limit access to firearms continue to face political gridlock.
