Trump Administration Halts Diversity Visa Program After University Shootings
On Thursday, President Donald Trump took decisive action by suspending the diversity visa lottery program, a decision linked to the recent tragic events involving a suspect in shootings at Brown University and MIT.
The order came from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who, following Trump’s directive, instructed the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to temporarily halt the program. Noem expressed her concerns, stating, “This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country.” The suspect in question, Claudio Neves Valente, a Portuguese national, was involved in fatal shootings that resulted in the deaths of two Brown University students and an MIT professor, before he was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Valente first arrived in the United States on a student visa in 2000 to study at Brown University. An affidavit from a Providence police detective reveals that he obtained a diversity immigrant visa in 2017 and subsequently gained legal permanent residence status. There is a gap in information regarding his whereabouts from 2001 to 2017, during which he took a leave of absence from his studies.
The diversity visa program, established by Congress, annually allots up to 50,000 green cards through a lottery system to individuals from underrepresented countries, predominantly in Africa. The suspension is expected to face legal challenges.
Reacting to this development, Kica Matos, president of the National Immigration Law Center, criticized the administration’s move, stating it was “shamelessly exploiting a national tragedy as cover to eliminate legal pathways for immigrants from non-white majority countries.” Matos urged the public and elected officials to advocate for those affected by the suspension, highlighting that many from majority Black and brown countries will now face uncertainty as the issue likely proceeds through the courts.
For the 2025 visa lottery, nearly 20 million individuals applied, with over 131,000 selected, including spouses. Successful applicants must undergo a rigorous vetting process to gain admission to the United States. Among these, Portuguese citizens secured only 38 slots.
Lottery winners are invited to apply for a green card, undergoing interviews at consulates and meeting the same standards and vetting as other applicants.
President Trump has consistently opposed the diversity visa lottery, and Secretary Noem’s announcement marks another instance of leveraging a tragedy to push immigration policy agendas. This follows previous actions such as imposing restrictive immigration rules after a fatal attack by an Afghan national on National Guard members.
In his broader immigration strategy, Trump has pursued limitations on legal immigration pathways, including those established by law like the diversity visa lottery. He has also challenged constitutional provisions like birthright citizenship, a matter currently under consideration by the Supreme Court.
