The United States has suspended its Green Card Lottery program following a tragic shooting at Brown University. The decision comes after authorities discovered the suspect in the case had entered the country through this immigration program years earlier.
The suspect a 48 – year – old Portuguese man, was found dead from an apparent self – inflicted gunshot after a multi-day search. Police linked him to the shooting at the university, which resulted in the deaths of two students and injuries to nine others. Officials also believe he is connected to the killing of a professor at another university earlier in the week.
The Green Card Lottery, officially known as the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, offers up to 50,000 visas annually to people from countries with low rates of immigration to the US. The program selects winners randomly from a large pool of applicants.
The US Homeland Security Secretary announced the pause on the program, stating it was done to ensure no further harm comes to Americans. The administration pointed to a previous incident where another attacker had also entered through the same visa lottery. The Secretary noted the President had long sought to end the program.
The shooting suspect had been a student at Brown University over twenty years ago but had no current connection to the school. Authorities have not yet determined a motive for the attacks. The suspension of the visa program marks a significant policy shift in response to the violence, reopening a long – standing debate about immigration and security in the United States.
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