President Donald Trump announced the suspension of the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, commonly known as the green card lottery, on Thursday. This executive action follows recent fatal shootings at Brown University and MIT, involving Claudio Neves Valente, who had obtained legal permanent residency through the program.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the directive via a post on social media platform X, stating that United States Citizenship and Immigration Services had been ordered to pause the program. Secretary Noem issued a statement remarking that the individual "should never have been allowed in our country."
Claudio Neves Valente, 48, a Portuguese national, was identified as the suspect in the incidents. The shootings resulted in two student fatalities and nine injuries at Brown University, and the death of an MIT professor. Valente was subsequently found deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
According to an affidavit from a Providence police detective, Neves Valente initially entered the U.S. on a student visa in 2000 to attend Brown University. He took a leave of absence from the institution in 2001. In 2017, he was issued a diversity immigrant visa, leading to his acquisition of legal permanent residence status. Details regarding his activities between 2001 and 2017 were not immediately available.
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, established by Congress, annually makes available up to 50,000 green cards. These visas are awarded by lottery to individuals from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the U.S. For the 2025 lottery cycle, nearly 20 million applications were submitted, resulting in over 131,000 selections, which included spouses of winners. Portuguese citizens secured 38 slots in this specific lottery. Selected individuals must undergo standard vetting and consulate interviews to apply for a green card.
President Trump has previously expressed opposition to the diversity visa lottery. This suspension aligns with prior actions by his administration to adjust immigration policies in connection with significant events. For example, after an Afghan national was identified as the gunman in a November attack on National Guard members, the administration implemented new restrictions on immigration from Afghanistan and other specified countries. The administration has sought to modify various legal immigration pathways and has challenged established constitutional and statutory provisions related to immigration, including birthright citizenship, a challenge recently accepted by the Supreme Court.