URGENT UPDATE: President Donald Trump has just suspended the U.S. green card lottery program following the shocking shootings at Brown University and MIT that left two students dead and nine others injured. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the pause on the program via the social media platform X, stating, “This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” referring to the suspect, Claudio Neves Valente.
Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national, is linked to the tragic events that unfolded earlier this week. After a manhunt, he was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound late Thursday evening. Authorities report that Neves Valente, who had studied at Brown University since 2000, was granted a diversity immigrant visa in 2017, allowing him legal permanent residency status.
The diversity visa lottery, which typically allocates 50,000 green cards annually to individuals from underrepresented countries, has now been halted. This program, designed to promote diversity, has drawn significant scrutiny, particularly following incidents of violence linked to visa holders. Nearly 20 million people applied for the 2025 visa lottery, with 131,000 selected when including spouses.
The move to suspend the lottery is expected to face legal challenges, as the program was established by Congress and has been a longstanding target of Trump’s immigration policy. The pause comes on the heels of previous actions that curtailed immigration pathways following violent incidents, such as the fatal attack by an Afghan gunman on National Guard members last November.
This latest announcement highlights the administration’s ongoing efforts to reshape immigration policy, emphasizing a hardline stance against programs like the diversity visa lottery. Critics argue that these actions exploit tragic events to push for stricter immigration regulations.
As the fallout from these shootings continues, the implications for immigration policy and the future of the diversity visa lottery remain uncertain. Officials and advocates are closely monitoring the situation, awaiting further announcements from the administration.
Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story as we track the impact of this decision on immigration and the lives of those affected.