The man charged with fatally stabbing a UMass Dartmouth football player outside a Providence bar overstayed a tourist visa for years before receiving deferred action approvals under both the Biden and Trump administrations, according to multiple federal law enforcement sources.
Chukwunonso Uzoma David Uzoma Eze, a Nigerian national, is charged with murder in the death of 19-year-old Marvins Antoine. A second player, 19-year-old Kensley Macean, was stabbed in the head and neck and taken to Rhode Island Hospital, Providence police said.
Federal sources told Fox News that Eze entered the United States on a B-2 tourist visa in 2015 and received two extensions during the Obama administration. He remained in the country after that authorized stay expired.
The Biden administration approved a request from Eze for deferred action in September 2022, according to the sources. He applied again in February 2025 and once more in October 2025, with that latest request approved by the Trump administration on Oct. 8, 2025.
Deferred action is a discretionary federal decision to temporarily hold off on deporting someone. It does not grant lawful immigration status.
The Department of Homeland Security said Eze applied for work 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 said that application is still pending.
DHS said Eze will lose his deferred action status if he is convicted of murder.
What happened in Providence
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 taken into custody by the UMass Dartmouth Police Department.
