WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has announced the immediate suspension of the US green card diversity lottery, citing national security concerns following a deadly mass shooting involving a lottery visa recipient.
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Thursday that the decision was taken on the direct instructions of President Donald Trump. She confirmed that the Diversity Visa (DV1) program has been paused with immediate effect.
Decision Linked to Brown University Shooting
According to Noem, the move follows the arrest of Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national accused of carrying out a deadly shooting at Brown University on December 13. Authorities say Valente entered a university building during exam time and opened fire on students.
The attack killed two students and left nine others injured. Police later linked Valente to another killing. He is accused of fatally shooting a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) two days after the Brown University incident.
Following a multi-day manhunt, police said Valente was later found dead by suicide.
DHS Cites Immigration Concerns
In a post on social media, Noem said Valente had entered the United States through the diversity lottery immigrant visa program in 2017 and was later granted permanent residency.
“At President Trump’s direction, I am immediately directing USCIS to pause the DV1 program,” Noem said. She added that the goal was to ensure “no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program.”
She also stated that Valente “should never have been allowed into the country,” raising fresh questions about immigration screening and visa policies.
What Is the Green Card Lottery?
The US green card lottery offers up to 55,000 permanent resident visas each year. The program is designed to promote diversity by granting visas to applicants from countries with historically low immigration rates to the United States.
Applicants must meet basic eligibility criteria. These include a high school education or at least two years of work or training experience. Winners also go through background checks and an in-person interview before receiving approval.
Broader Immigration Crackdown Continues
The suspension of the lottery comes as part of a broader tightening of immigration rules under the Trump administration. According to a report by The New York Times, the administration also plans to step up efforts to strip citizenship from some naturalised Americans.
Internal guidance issued by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reportedly instructs field offices to identify 100 to 200 denaturalisation cases per month in the upcoming 2026 fiscal year.
Since returning to office in January, President Trump has pursued an aggressive immigration agenda. His policies include travel bans, efforts to end birthright citizenship, and new restrictions on visa processing.
Most recently, the administration paused green card and citizenship applications from immigrants belonging to 19 non-European countries, further signaling a hardline stance on immigration and national security.
