President Donald Trump has suspended the US green card lottery scheme in the wake of a mass shooting at Brown University last week in which two people were killed.
The suspect, a Portuguese man who was found dead on Thursday, entered the country through the diversity lottery immigrant visa programme (DV1) in 2017 and was granted a green card.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she has paused the visa scheme under Trump's direction to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous programme.
US officials said they believe the suspect, 48-year-old Claudio Neves Valente, also killed Portuguese Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno Loureiro earlier this week.
The programme makes up to 50,000 visas available each year through a random selection process among entries from countries with low rates of immigration to the US.
In a social media post, Noem recalled that Trump had previously fought to end the scheme in 2017 after another tragedy connected to it.
Authorities clarified that Neves Valente's previously established ties to the academic community likely played a role in his violent actions.
Brown University President Christina Paxson confirmed that Neves Valente was a former student, having studied for his PhD in physics, but had no active affiliation with the school at the time of the incident.
Details regarding Neves Valente's motives remain unclear, as investigations continue into his background and connections.
