The man charged with murder in the stabbing death of a UMass Dartmouth football player entered the United States on a tourist visa more than a decade ago and later received deferred action from both the Biden and Trump administrations, according to multiple federal law enforcement sources cited by Fox News.
Chukwunonso Uzoma David Uzoma Eze is accused of killing 19-year-old UMass Dartmouth football player Marvins Antoine during an altercation in Providence, Rhode Island, over the weekend. A second player, 19-year-old Kensley Macean, suffered stab wounds to his head and neck and was taken to Rhode Island Hospital, the Providence Police Department said.
According to the sources, Eze first arrived in the U.S. on a B-2 tourist visa in 2015. He received two extensions under the Obama administration before overstaying his authorized period.
The Biden administration approved his request for deferred action in September 2022, the sources said. Eze applied for deferred action again in February 2025 and October 2025; the Trump administration approved the latter request on Oct. 8, 2025.
Deferred action is a discretionary federal decision to temporarily delay someone’s removal from the country. It does not grant lawful immigration status.
The Department of Homeland Security said Eze applied for employment authorization in August 2023, but that request was rejected the following month. He applied again in February 2025 based on his deferred-action status, and DHS says that application remains pending. DHS has indicated that Eze will lose his deferred action if he is convicted of murder.
What Police Say Happened
Providence police said the stabbing occurred around 12:30 a.m. Saturday in the parking lot outside Mezzo Lounge, following an altercation involving people who had been inside the venue. Antoine died from a stab wound to the chest; Macean was wounded in the head and neck.
Eze was later located and taken into custody by the UMass Dartmouth Police Department, according to police.
