Trump suspends green card lottery program linked to the suspect in the Brown University and MIT shootings.
President Donald Trump has moved to suspend the diversity visa lottery program, which previously allowed the suspect in the tragic shooting incidents at Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) entry into the United States. The announcement was made by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who stated that the program will be paused at the direction of President Trump.
The suspect, identified as Claudio Neves Valente, 48, is believed to have been involved in a shooting spree at Brown University that resulted in the deaths of two students and injured nine others, in addition to the killing of an MIT professor. Authorities discovered Neves Valente deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Thursday evening.
According to an affidavit from a Providence police detective, Neves Valente entered the U.S. on a student visa in 2000. In 2017, he was granted a diversity immigrant visa, which subsequently allowed him to obtain legal permanent resident status. However, it remains unclear where he was during the time he took a leave of absence from school in 2001 until receiving his visa in 2017.
The diversity visa lottery program, established by Congress, allocates 50,000 green cards annually to individuals from countries that are typically underrepresented in the U.S., primarily from Africa. The recent suspension is expected to lead to legal challenges, given the program’s legislative foundation.
Approximately 20 million individuals submitted applications for the 2025 diversity visa lottery, with over 131,000 winners when spouses are included. Among the winners, only 38 slots were allocated to Portuguese citizens. Successful lottery participants must undergo a thorough vetting process, including interviews at U.S. consulates, to secure their green card.
President Trump has long been an outspoken critic of the diversity visa lottery. Secretary Noem’s announcement exemplifies a trend of leveraging tragic events to pursue immigration policy objectives. In the past, following a shooting involving an Afghan gunman, the Trump administration implemented strict immigration restrictions targeting Afghanistan and other countries.
Throughout his tenure, Trump has aimed to enforce stringent immigration policies, advocating for mass deportations while seeking to limit pathways to legal immigration. His administration has remained undeterred by established laws, such as the diversity visa lottery, or constitutional interpretations, as evidenced by the Supreme Court’s agreement to review his challenge to birthright citizenship. The ongoing debate surrounding these policies continues to shape the nation’s immigration landscape.
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