President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the suspension of the U.S. diversity visa lottery programme, following revelations that the suspect in the deadly shootings at Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) entered the United States through the scheme.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the decision in a post on social media platform X, stating that, at the President’s direction, she had instructed the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to pause the programme.
“This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” Noem said, referring to the suspect, Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national.
Neves Valente is suspected of carrying out shootings at Brown University, which left two students dead and nine others wounded, as well as the killing of an MIT professor, according to U.S. authorities. Officials said he was later found dead on Thursday evening from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah B. Foley said Neves Valente obtained legal permanent resident status in 2017 through the diversity visa programme.
The diversity visa lottery, established by Congress, makes up to 50,000 green cards available annually to applicants from countries with historically low levels of immigration to the United States, many of them in Africa. The programme is almost certain to face legal challenges, as it was created by statute.
Nearly 20 million people applied for the 2025 lottery, with more than 131,000 individuals selected, including spouses of winners. Applicants must undergo extensive vetting before being granted entry to the United States. Portuguese nationals were awarded just 38 slots in that year’s lottery.
Lottery winners are invited to apply for permanent residency and must attend interviews at U.S. consulates, meeting the same eligibility and security requirements as other green card applicants.
Trump has long been a vocal critic of the diversity visa lottery, and the suspension marks the latest instance of his administration citing violent incidents to advance restrictive immigration policies.
Previously, following a fatal attack on National Guard members in November by an Afghan national, the administration imposed broad restrictions on immigration from Afghanistan and several other countries.
While pursuing a policy of mass deportation, Trump has also moved to limit or eliminate pathways to legal immigration, including programmes established by law. He has similarly challenged constitutional protections, including birthright citizenship, a case the U.S. Supreme Court has recently agreed to hear.
Source: Associated Press (AP)
