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 Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno Loureiro earlier that 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.
Writing on social media, Noem expressed that Trump had previously fought to end the scheme in 2017 after another violent incident. The DV1 program has been scrutinized following links to past attacks carried out by individuals who gained entry through the program.
Neves Valente was identified as the main suspect after a comprehensive investigation, which included video evidence and tips from the public, leading to a six-day multi-state manhunt.
Authorities have not provided any suspected motive for either of the attacks but have confirmed the link between the shootings through similar evidence and connections between the individuals involved in the incidents.
Brown University President Christina Paxson stated that Neves Valente was enrolled at the school decades ago and had no current affiliation.
