US pauses green card processing for new immigrants - What happened
Photo: US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem (Getty Images)
The United States has suspended the issuance of green cards following a shooting at Brown University. The gunman, who killed two people and wounded nine students, was identified as a 48-year-old migrant who entered the US through the green card program, says US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
According to her, the Brown University shooter — 48-year-old Portuguese national Claudio Manuel Neves Valente — entered the United States in 2017 under the Diversity Visa (DV1) immigration program and later obtained a green card.
"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. At President Trump’s direction, I am immediately directing USCIS to pause the DV1 program to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program," Noem wrote.
The DV1 program, launched in the 1990s, offers up to 50,000 visas annually to citizens of countries with low immigration levels to the United States. Visa recipients are selected through a lottery system, with millions of people worldwide participating each year.
However, winning the lottery does not guarantee a visa. Applicants must have at least a high school education or two years of work experience in an eligible field they intend to pursue in the US. They must also pass an interview and background checks before being granted a green card.
As previously reported, on December 14, Brown University in Rhode Island declared a state of emergency following a shooting on campus. It was later confirmed that the gunman — an immigrant from Portugal — wounded nine students, killed two, and then took his own life. Police later found him dead.
Earlier, on November 26, another shooting occurred several blocks from the White House in Washington, D.C. Two US National Guard service members were killed, while the shooter was seriously wounded and detained. It was later revealed that the attacker was a citizen of Afghanistan who fled the country in 2021.
