Rabat – President Donald Trump has decided to suspend the US green card scheme, with the US administration citing the decision as a result of the Brown University shooting.
US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she received instructions to pause the scheme under Trump’s direction to “ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program.”
A mass shooting on December 13 killed two students, while nine others were injured. A suspect opened fire at the physics building at Brown University.
Police identified Portuguese national Claudio Manuel Neves Valente as the suspect.
Valende was a former student at the university. He is also suspected of killing a physics professor in his home in Brookline two days after the shooting in Brown University.
Police found Valente dead in his home. The suspect entered the US in 2017 through the DV1 program in 2017.
“In 2017, President Trump fought to end this program, following the devastating NYC truck ramming by an ISIS terrorist, who entered under the DV1 program, and murdered eight people,” Noem said.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services said the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program makes up 50,000 immigrant visas available annually.
In addition to the lottery program, Trump also expanded US travel restrictions, adding 20 countries to existing bans and imposing limitations affecting over 35 countries worldwide.
The White House announced that five countries face complete travel bans starting January 1: Syria, South Sudan, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. This, in addition to other countries, has faced punitive partial restrictions.
