Listen to the article
President Donald Trump has suspended the green card lottery program that allowed the suspect in recent university shootings to enter the United States, a move likely to face legal challenges.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the suspension Thursday on social media platform X, stating she had ordered U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to pause the program at Trump’s direction.
“This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” Noem wrote, referring to Portuguese national Claudio Neves Valente, the suspect in shootings at Brown University and MIT.
Authorities found Neves Valente, 48, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound Thursday evening. He is suspected of killing two Brown University students and wounding nine others, as well as killing an MIT professor.
According to a Providence police detective’s affidavit, Neves Valente first came to the United States on a student visa in 2000 to study at Brown University. After taking a leave of absence in 2001, he later obtained a diversity immigrant visa in 2017, which led to his legal permanent resident status. Officials have not clarified where he was during the 16-year gap between these events.
The diversity visa program, established by Congress, allocates up to 50,000 green cards annually through a lottery system. It specifically targets applicants from countries with historically low immigration rates to the United States, with many recipients coming from African nations.
Competition for these visas is intense. Nearly 20 million people applied for the 2025 visa lottery, with approximately 131,000 selected, including spouses. Portuguese citizens, like Neves Valente, were awarded only 38 slots in the program. After selection, applicants must undergo rigorous vetting before gaining admission to the United States.
The lottery winners are invited to apply for permanent residency. They must complete interviews at U.S. consulates and meet the same requirements and background checks as other green card applicants.
The administration’s suspension of this congressionally mandated program will almost certainly face legal challenges, as the president lacks unilateral authority to end programs established by legislation.
Trump has consistently opposed the diversity visa lottery throughout his political career. The move to suspend it follows a pattern in his administration of using tragic events to advance restrictive immigration policies. After an Afghan national fatally attacked National Guard members in November, the administration imposed sweeping immigration restrictions against Afghanistan and other countries.
The suspension aligns with Trump’s broader agenda of limiting legal immigration pathways while pursuing mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. His administration has shown willingness to challenge long-established immigration programs, even when codified in law or the Constitution.
For example, the Supreme Court recently agreed to hear Trump’s challenge to birthright citizenship, a right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution for anyone born on U.S. soil.
Immigration policy experts note that the diversity visa program has been a contentious issue along partisan lines for years. Supporters argue it promotes diversity and provides opportunities for immigrants from underrepresented countries, while critics contend the random selection process doesn’t prioritize skills or family connections.
The program’s sudden suspension creates uncertainty for thousands of applicants currently in the pipeline, including those who have already been selected and are awaiting final approval of their permanent residency.
Human rights organizations and immigration advocates have expressed concern about the administration’s decision to suspend an entire immigration program based on the actions of a single individual, arguing that such broad policy changes should be based on comprehensive analysis rather than isolated incidents.
Fact Checker
Verify the accuracy of this article using The Disinformation Commission analysis and real-time sources.
10 Comments
This is a sensitive and emotive topic. I appreciate the desire to take action, but we should be cautious about overstating the risks or scapegoating entire programs. Targeted reforms may be more constructive than broad suspensions.
I agree. We need to carefully weigh the potential benefits and drawbacks of any policy changes in this area. Rushing into decisions without fully understanding the implications could do more harm than good.
This is a tragic situation. While suspending the green card lottery program may seem like a logical reaction, we need to carefully consider the broader implications and potential unintended consequences of such actions.
You raise a fair point. Knee-jerk policy changes often create more problems than they solve. A measured, evidence-based approach is needed here.
While the circumstances surrounding this case are deeply concerning, I’m not convinced that suspending the green card lottery program is the right solution. We should focus on improving vetting and security protocols rather than cutting off a legal immigration pathway.
That’s a fair point. Targeted reforms to enhance the integrity of the program may be a more constructive approach than an outright suspension. We need to carefully consider the broader implications and potential unintended consequences.
While this is a tragic event, I’m not convinced that suspending the green card lottery program is the right approach. We need to understand the full context and look at evidence-based ways to address any vulnerabilities in the system.
A fair perspective. Knee-jerk policy changes often create more problems than they solve. A measured, nuanced approach is needed to address this complex issue.
The suspect’s background and immigration history raise valid concerns, but we must be cautious about overgeneralizing or scapegoating entire programs. Improving vetting and security protocols could be a more constructive solution.
Agreed. Targeted reforms may be warranted, but suspending the whole green card lottery program seems like an overreaction. We should focus on practical ways to enhance the system’s integrity.