Trump suspends US green card lottery in wake of Brown University and MIT shootings | US news
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered the suspension of the green card lottery program under Donald Trump, saying it allowed the Brown University and MIT shooting suspect to come to the United States.
Suspect Claudio Neves Valente, a Portuguese national, initially entered the United States on a student visa in 2000 and then became a permanent resident in 2017, according to Providence, Rhode Island, police chief Oscar Perez. Valente was found dead Thursday evening from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“This heinous individual should never have been allowed into our country,” Noem said on X.
Trump has long opposed the diversity visa lottery. Noem’s announcement is the latest example of using tragedy to advance immigration policy goals.
After an Afghan man was identified as the shooter in a deadly attack on National Guard members in November, the Trump administration imposed strict rules against immigration from Afghanistan and other countries.
The DV1 visa program makes up to 50,000 green cards available each year through a lottery to people from countries poorly represented in the United States, many of whom are African.
Nearly 20 million people applied for the 2025 visa lottery, with more than 131,000 selected by including spouses among the winners. After winning, they must undergo verification to be admitted to the United States. Portuguese citizens won only 38 places.
Lottery winners are encouraged to apply for a green card. They are interviewed at consulates and subject to the same requirements and checks as other green card applicants.
More to come.
