By Joke Kujenya
THE UNITED States green card lottery programme has been suspended by President Donald Trump, homeland security secretary Kristi Noem announced during a briefing on Friday.
Noem said the Diversity Visa Immigrant Programme, also known as DV1, had allowed the suspect in the Brown University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology shootings to enter the country.
The DV1 programme issues up to 50,000 green cards annually to immigrants by lottery. Nearly 20 million people applied in 2025, with over 131,000 successful applicants.
Those selected undergo vetting before entering the US. Trump has repeatedly spoken against the initiative.
Oscar Perez, police chief in Providence, Rhode Island, said Claudio Neves Valente, the Portuguese national responsible for the university shootings, initially entered the US on a student visa in 2000 and became a permanent resident in 2017.
Also, Perez said Valente was found dead on Thursday evening from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” Noem said on X.
Noem’s announcement follows a pattern in which the Trump administration cites tragedies to justify immigration measures.
After an Afghan man was identified as the gunman in a fatal attack on National Guard members in November, the administration imposed sweeping restrictions on immigration from Afghanistan and other countries.
Portuguese citizens won only 38 slots in the 2025 DV1 lottery. Lottery winners are invited to apply for a green card, interviewed at consulates, and subjected to the same requirements and vetting as other applicants.
Separately, Trump has limited entry to the US for Tanzanians and citizens of 14 other countries, citing inefficiencies in screening, vetting, and information-sharing by local authorities, as well as high visa overstay rates.
A presidential proclamation signed on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, added Tanzania to the list of nations subject to partial travel restrictions.
US data shows Tanzanians on B-1/B-2 visas have an overstay rate of 8.30%, while F, M, and J visa holders, including students, dependents, and exchange visitors, had an overstay rate of 13.97%.
“The proclamation adds partial restrictions and entry limitations on 15 additional countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe,” the White House stated.
Trump’s decision follows claims of human rights abuses in Tanzania after the October elections.
The US demanded accountability for alleged atrocities and warned it might reassess diplomatic ties with President Samia Suluhu’s administration. Suluhu’s government rejected the allegations, stating that regional and international media had misrepresented the situation.
In addition to partial travel restrictions, Washington has imposed total bans on citizens of South Sudan, Syria, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.
Lawful permanent residents, current visa holders, diplomats, athletes, and people whose admission aligns with US national interests are exempt from the proclamation.
Trump said the decision was made after discussions with Cabinet members, reviewing the original report under Executive Order 14161, Proclamation 10949, and subsequent country-specific data.
