In a swift move following a national tragedy, the Trump administration has suspended a key U.S. immigration program. The action comes directly in response to the revelation that the suspect in the recent Brown University and MIT shootings initially entered the country through the Diversity Immigrant Visa program, commonly known as the green card lottery.
Policy Suspension in the Wake of Tragedy
On Thursday, December 19, 2025, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the pause. She stated on the social platform X that, at President Donald Trump's direction, she was ordering U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to halt the program. "This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country," Noem said of the suspect, Portuguese national Claudio Neves Valente, 48.
The suspect is believed to be responsible for the shootings at Brown University in Providence, which killed two students and wounded nine others, and the separate killing of a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After a manhunt, Neves Valente was found dead on Thursday evening from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Suspect's Path to the United States
According to an affidavit from a Providence police detective, the suspect's immigration timeline is central to the administration's response. Neves Valente first came to the U.S. on a student visa to study at Brown University beginning in the year 2000. After taking a leave of absence in 2001, his whereabouts were unclear for over a decade.
His legal status changed in 2017. Court documents indicate he was issued a diversity immigrant visa that year and subsequently obtained legal permanent resident status (a green card) months later. The diversity visa program, created by Congress, allocates up to 50,000 green cards annually through a lottery system. It targets applicants from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States.
The program is intensely competitive. For the 2025 lottery, nearly 20 million people applied worldwide, with only about 131,000 individuals (including spouses of winners) initially selected. Portuguese citizens secured a mere 38 of those slots. Winners undergo rigorous interviews and vetting at U.S. consulates before admission.
A Long-Standing Policy Goal and Legal Challenges Ahead
This suspension represents the latest instance of the Trump administration leveraging a tragic event to advance its immigration policy goals. President Trump has opposed the diversity visa lottery for years, arguing it does not prioritize skills or family ties. The move is almost certain to face immediate legal challenges, as the program is established by federal law, not executive order.
The administration has consistently sought to curtail both illegal and legal immigration avenues. This strategy includes recent actions like imposing sweeping restrictions on immigration from Afghanistan after a fatal attack on National Guard members. The administration has also signaled challenges to other immigration cornerstones, including birthright citizenship, with the Supreme Court recently agreeing to hear a related case.
The suspension of the green card lottery marks a significant and controversial shift in U.S. immigration policy, directly tying a broad program to the actions of a single individual and setting the stage for a protracted legal and political battle.
