No more Green Cards for Kenyans
In a surprising move, President Donald Trump has decided to put the green card lottery program on hold right after a tragic shooting incident at Brown University.
On Thursday, December 18, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem shared that Trump had instructed the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to temporarily suspend the program.
This decision comes in the wake of a shooting at Brown University, where a gunman opened fire in a classroom, resulting in the deaths of two undergraduate students.
Reports indicate that the suspected shooter entered the U.S. through the diversity lottery immigrant visa program back in 2017 and was subsequently granted a green card.
“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 programme,” said Noem.
The head of Homeland Security revealed that President Trump has consistently been against the diversity visa lottery, pointing out that these programs go against U.S. immigration policy.
“In 2017, President Trump fought to end this programme, following the devastating NYC truck ramming by an ISIS terrorist, who entered under the DV1 programme and murdered eight people,” she added.
In a tragic turn of events, the suspected Portuguese shooter who took the lives of two undergraduate students on December 13 also fatally shot a university professor, leaving nine others injured in the process.
Later, authorities discovered him dead, and investigators believe it may have been due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
This latest development is a significant setback for many countries, including Kenya, which has greatly benefited from the program that has allowed numerous Kenyans to access opportunities in the U.S.
The Diversity Immigrant Visa, often called the green card lottery, is a program run by the U.S. government that allows foreigners to enter the United States at a relatively low cost. Winners of this lottery are chosen randomly by a computer program, giving people a unique chance to travel abroad for better job opportunities or education.
No more Green Cards for Kenyans
