Washington: President Donald Trump moved on Thursday to halt the US diversity visa lottery, invoking the case of a Portuguese national suspected in two fatal New England shootings, as authorities confirmed the man was found dead after a multistate manhunt.

Federal and local officials said the five-day search for 48-year-old Claudio Neves Valente ended inside a New Hampshire storage facility, where investigators discovered him with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police say the former Brown University student is believed to have acted alone.

Authorities have linked the same suspect to two attacks: a shooting in a Brown University lecture hall that left two students dead and nine injured, and the killing of Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro at his Brookline home two days later.

The case prompted a shift in political messaging in Washington. The Trump administration – already advancing a hard-line immigration agenda – seized on the suspect’s immigration history as justification for new restrictions.

“This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on X as she confirmed she had ordered US Citizenship and Immigration Services to pause the program at Trump’s direction.

Suspect tied to two campus-linked attacks

Investigators said the shooting at Brown unfolded on Saturday inside an engineering lecture space that has limited camera coverage. The attacker allegedly entered and exited through a side door connecting to a residential street, frustrating early efforts to identify him.

The probe widened earlier this week when officials began examining a possible link to Loureiro’s killing nearly 50 miles (80 kilometres) away. Video footage later captured the suspect entering an apartment building near the professor’s home before heading to the New Hampshire facility where he died.

Authorities say they are still working to understand why students at Brown were targeted.

“We don’t know why now, why Brown, why these students and why this classroom,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said.

Former Brown student with Portuguese academic links

Brown University President Christina Paxson said Neves Valente enrolled in 2000 as a physics postgraduate but left in spring 2001.

“He has no current affiliation with the university,” she said.

Federal officials said both Valente and Loureiro studied at the same Portuguese engineering institution between 1995 and 2000. According to archived records, Valente was dismissed from a position at the Lisbon-based school in early 2000.

The suspect originally entered the United States on an F-1 student visa before obtaining permanent residency in September 2017, officials said. His last known address was in Miami.

Crucial lead came from a university custodian

Authorities credited a Brown University custodian for recognising images circulated by police. After spotting the suspect in surveillance stills, he discussed his concerns on Reddit, where other users urged him to alert the FBI.

“That person led us to the car, which led us to the name,” Neronha said.

That vehicle – a Florida-registered Nissan – became central to the investigation. Providence police tapped a network of more than 70 automated street cameras to track its movements. Investigators allege the suspect later attempted to obscure the rental car’s registration by fixing a Maine licence plate over the original.

Trump links tragedy to renewed immigration push

Trump has long targeted the diversity visa scheme, which offers up to 50,000 green cards annually to applicants from under-represented nations. Portuguese citizens secured just 38 slots in the most recent cycle, though nearly 20 million people applied globally.

The lottery is authorised by Congress, meaning any suspension is likely to face legal scrutiny. Winners still undergo interviews, vetting and standard eligibility checks before receiving permanent-resident status.

Critics say the administration is leveraging violent incidents to justify sweeping restrictions. The article notes:

Noem’s announcement is the latest example of using tragedy to advance immigration policy goals.

In previous instances, the administration imposed new entry rules after an Afghan national was accused in a fatal attack on National Guard members.

Policy outlook remains uncertain

The renewed pause comes as Trump pursues mass deportation proposals and challenges pathways to legal residency – including constitutional birthright guarantees. The Supreme Court recently agreed to hear a case on that issue.

Immigration scholars warned Thursday that halting the program will not retroactively affect the suspect’s legal status and does not address broader screening systems already built into permanent-residency applications.

Motive still unknown

Even with the suspect’s death, investigators said their work remains incomplete. They continue to analyse his movements, academic history and potential interactions with both campuses.

“There are still a lot of unknowns,” Neronha said.

Experts note that in highly public attacks, perpetrators often die before police intervention. The timeline of recent U.S. manhunts – from the Boston Marathon bombing to the Lewiston shootings – underscores how such searches can take days.

(With inputs from AP)