The Trump administration suspended the diversity visa lottery program after a Portuguese national who entered through the system killed two university students and a professor in a deadly shooting spree.
Story Snapshot
- DHS Secretary Kristi Noem immediately suspended the diversity visa program following Brown University shooting
- Portuguese national Claudio Manuel Neves Valente killed two Brown students and MIT professor using green card obtained through lottery system
- Trump previously attempted to end the program in 2017 after ISIS terrorist used same visa pathway to kill eight in NYC truck attack
- Program randomly distributes 50,000 immigrant visas annually to individuals from countries with low U.S. immigration rates
Swift Administrative Action Following Campus Tragedy
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the immediate suspension of the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program on December 18, 2025, following revelations that the Brown University shooter obtained entry through this system.
Noem instructed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to pause the program “to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program.” The decisive action came just five days after the tragic shooting that claimed multiple lives across two prestigious universities.
#Breaking: President Trump suspends green card lottery program that allowed suspect in Brown University shooting and killing of MIT professor into the United States.https://t.co/rPZVMYxuU8
— NBC 10 WJAR (@NBC10) December 19, 2025
Deadly Shooting Spree Exposes Immigration Security Gaps
Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national, opened fire at Brown University’s physics building on December 13, 2025, killing two students and injuring nine others.
The former Ph.D. student, who had enrolled in the university’s physics program in 2000, continued his violent rampage two days later by murdering MIT physics professor Nuno Loureiro at his Massachusetts home. Valente was discovered dead in a New Hampshire storage facility on December 18, ending the threat to public safety.
Program’s Troubling History of Security Failures
The diversity visa program has repeatedly enabled dangerous individuals to enter American communities through its lottery-based system. Valente received his green card through the program in 2017, the same year President Trump advocated for its elimination following an ISIS terrorist’s deadly truck attack in New York City.
That attack, which killed eight innocent people, demonstrated the program’s fundamental security vulnerabilities when terrorists and violent criminals exploit random visa allocation processes designed to increase immigration from underrepresented countries.
Random Lottery System Undermines National Security Priorities
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program distributes up to 50,000 immigrant visas annually through a lottery system that prioritizes geographic diversity over security screening and merit-based qualifications.
This approach fundamentally contradicts conservative principles of controlled immigration that protects American citizens while ensuring thorough vetting of potential immigrants.
The program’s random allocation method prevents proper assessment of individual character, criminal history, and potential threats to community safety, creating dangerous gaps in America’s immigration security framework.
