Trump Suspends U.S. Green Card Lottery After Deadly Brown University and MIT Shootings
In a dramatic policy shift, U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered an immediate suspension of the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program—commonly known as the green card lottery—following the deadly shootings at Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The move was announced late Thursday by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who said the pause comes at the President’s direction and is intended to strengthen national security.
The action follows revelations that the suspect in the shootings, identified as 48-year-old Portuguese national Claudio Neves Valente, entered the United States years ago and later gained permanent residency through the diversity visa program. Investigators say Valente killed two students and injured nine others at Brown University before shooting and killing an MIT professor. Authorities later confirmed that he died by suicide.
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program makes up to 50,000 green cards available annually through a random lottery to applicants from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. Winners and their families must still undergo background checks and interviews before final approval. Nearly 20 million people applied for the 2025 green card lottery this year, and officials selected more than 131,000 applicants along with their eligible dependents.
Secretary Noem defended the decision as a preventive security measure and said authorities should never have allowed the suspect to enter the United States. Critics say the suspension risks stoking fear and may face legal challenges, while supporters argue it reflects growing concern over immigration policies tied to public safety.
The diversity visa program, created by Congress in the 1990s to broaden the U.S. immigrant pool, has long been a target of Trump’s immigration agenda. The duration of the suspension and potential legislative changes remain unclear, making this a rapidly evolving policy development.
