The Trump administration has ordered the immediate suspension of the United States' diversity visa lottery programme, a high-profile immigration route, in the wake of fatal shootings at Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Visa Scheme Linked to Shooting Suspect
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the move, stating it was directed by President Donald Trump. She directly linked the decision to the suspect in the university shootings, Claudio Neves Valente, a Portuguese national.
According to Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez, Valente first entered the US on a student visa in the year 2000. He later obtained permanent residency, a green card, through the diversity visa lottery in 2017. Valente was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Thursday evening.
"This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country," Secretary Noem declared in a post on the social media platform X.
Long-Standing Opposition to the Lottery Programme
The suspension represents the latest instance of the Trump administration using a national tragedy to advance its immigration policy objectives. President Trump has consistently opposed the Diversity Immigrant Visa program, often referred to as the green card lottery.
This pattern was seen previously in November, when following a fatal attack on National Guard members by an Afghan national, the administration imposed extensive restrictions on immigration from Afghanistan and several other countries.
The DV1 visa programme allocates up to 50,000 green cards annually via a random lottery. It is designed for applicants from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States, with many successful applicants coming from African nations.
Scale and Scrutiny of the Lottery
The programme's popularity is immense, with nearly 20 million people worldwide applying for the 2025 lottery. From this pool, just over 131,000 individuals, including spouses of primary winners, were selected. Winning the lottery merely grants the chance to apply for a green card; all applicants must then undergo rigorous vetting and interviews at US consulates, meeting the same stringent requirements as other immigration pathways.
In the context of the recent case, the numbers are revealing. Out of the tens of thousands of slots, citizens of Portugal secured only 38 in the latest lottery round. The administration's move to suspend the entire programme, therefore, marks a significant policy shift based on a single case within a vast system.
The decision is expected to ignite further debate on US immigration policy, balancing security concerns against longstanding principles of diversity and opportunity.
