US President Donald Trump has halted the green card lottery program, also known as the diversity visa program, following the shootings at Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
which left three people dead and several others injured.
The suspect, Portuguese national Claudio Neves Valente, entered the United States through this program, prompting Trump to take swift action.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on the social platform X that, under Trump’s direction, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been instructed to suspend the lottery program immediately.
“This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” Noem said, referring to Neves Valente.
The Brown University shooter, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente entered the United States through the diversity lottery immigrant visa program (DV1) in 2017 and was granted a green card. This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country.
In 2017, President Trump…
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) December 19, 2025
Neves Valente, 48, is suspected of killing two students at Brown University and an MIT professor, while injuring nine additional people.
Authorities reported that he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Thursday evening.
According to US Attorney for Massachusetts Leah B Foley, Neves Valente had obtained legal permanent residency in 2017.
The diversity visa program, established by Congress, makes up to 50,000 green cards available annually through a lottery system for individuals from countries that are underrepresented in the United States.
Many of the visas are awarded to applicants from African nations.
The lottery allows winners and their spouses to apply for green cards, which includes a thorough vetting and consular interview process to determine eligibility for permanent residence.
For the 2025 lottery, nearly 20 million people applied, with over 131,000 individuals, including spouses, selected. Only 38 of the slots were won by Portuguese citizens.
Trump has long been critical of the diversity visa program, and Noem’s announcement marks the latest instance in which a tragic event has been cited to justify changes to immigration policy.
Earlier in his administration, after an Afghan man was linked to a deadly attack on National Guard members in November, Trump implemented broad restrictions on immigration from Afghanistan and other countries.
While advocating for stricter immigration policies, Trump has pursued limits on both legal and illegal pathways into the United States, including programs mandated by law, such as the diversity visa lottery, as well as constitutional rights like birthright citizenship.
The Supreme Court has recently agreed to hear a case challenging the constitutional guarantee of citizenship for anyone born on US soil.
Noem’s statement reflects the administration’s position that the diversity visa program, as currently structured, allows individuals who could pose a threat to gain entry into the country.
Legal experts say the suspension is likely to face court challenges, given that the lottery was established through federal legislation and has long-standing congressional support, the Associated Press reported.
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