US President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the suspension of the Diversity Immigrant Visa Programme, commonly known as the green card lottery, following the deadly shootings at Brown University and the killing of an MIT professor.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the decision on social media platform X, stating that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been directed to pause the programme immediately.
“This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” Noem said, referring to the suspect, Claudio Neves Valente, a Portuguese national.
Suspect’s Immigration Background
Valente, 48, is suspected of killing two students at Brown University, injuring nine others, and murdering an MIT professor. Authorities later found him dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
According to court documents, Valente first entered the United States in 2000 on a student visa to attend Brown University. In 2017, he was granted a diversity immigrant visa and later obtained permanent resident status. Investigators are still unclear about his whereabouts during the period between his departure from university in 2001 and his visa approval in 2017.
About the Green Card Lottery
The diversity visa programme allows up to 50,000 people each year from underrepresented countries to apply for US permanent residency through a lottery system. Nearly 20 million applicants registered for the 2025 programme, with about 131,000 selected, including family members.
Despite being chosen, applicants must undergo background checks, interviews, and security vetting similar to other green card applicants. Portuguese citizens received only 38 selections in the 2025 lottery.
Legal Challenges Likely
The programme was created by the US Congress, making the suspension vulnerable to legal challenges. However, Trump has long criticised the lottery, arguing it poses national security risks.
This move aligns with Trump’s broader immigration stance, which includes tightening legal immigration pathways and expanding deportation efforts. His administration has previously used violent incidents to justify immigration restrictions, including measures targeting applicants from Afghanistan and other countries.
The Supreme Court is also set to hear Trump’s challenge to birthright citizenship, underscoring the administration’s aggressive push to overhaul US immigration policy.
Originally published on 24×7-news.com.
