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REVEALED: More Terrorists Also Used The Diversity Visa Lottery Program

(Photo credit should read ST. CHARLES COUNTY DEPT. OF CORR/AFP/Getty Images)

Alex Pfeiffer White House Correspondent
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At least four alleged terrorists have entered America through the Diversity Visa Lottery program, according to statistics released Tuesday by The White House.

The Diversity Visa Lottery gives 50,000 permanent residence visas (green cards) to foreigners from nations without a large amount of immigration to the U.S. It has come under criticism after Sayfullo Saipov, an Uzbek national who entered the U.S. through the program, allegedly killed eight in New York in a truck attack.

“I am calling on Congress to TERMINATE the diversity visa lottery program that presents significant vulnerabilities to our national security,” Trump tweeted on Nov. 2.

In the days before Saipov’s attack, Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, another Uzbek national and Diversity Visa beneficiary, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State.

Syed Harris Ahmed of Pakistan, another Diversity Visa Lottery beneficiary, was convicted in 2009 of terrorist activities in the U.S. and abroad.

In 1997, Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, a Hamas leader, was deported for terrorist activities. The White House said that he received his green card “through the predecessor program to the Visa Lottery.”

Two other terrorists received green cards due to relatives winning the Visa Lottery.

Hesham Hohamed Ali Hedayet, an Egyptian who killed two during a July 2002 shooting at Los Angeles International Airport, received his green card due to his wife being a winner of the Diversity Visa Lottery. He claimed a green card when his wife was selected as a beneficiary and was able to immigrate because his parents had previously benefited from the program.

Pakistani national Imran Mandhai pleaded guilty in 2002 to conspiring to bomb both electrical power substations in the Miami area and a National Guard Armory. Mandahi immigrated to the U.S. because his parents were Visa Lottery winners.

The revelation of these terrorists with ties to the program comes after statistics were released showing that nearly 30,000 foreigners from state sponsors of terror have won the Diversity Visa Lottery since 2007.