The Trump administration has ordered an immediate pause of the US green card lottery program following revelations that the suspect behind a deadly shooting involving Brown University and the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor obtained permanent residency through the initiative.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the decision in a post on X, stating that she had directed US Citizenship and Immigration Services to halt the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program while the administration reviews its security implications. The program issues up to 50,000 green cards annually to applicants from countries with historically low immigration rates to the United States.
US authorities identified the suspect as Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national and former Brown University student. According to Noem, Valente received his green card through the lottery system in 2017. His body was discovered Thursday in what officials described as an apparent suicide.
“This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” Noem said in an X post, adding that the suspension would “ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program.”
The decision marks the latest immigration crackdown under President Donald Trump, whose administration has repeatedly tied violent incidents to what it describes as weak vetting and enforcement policies. Officials argue that the lottery system prioritizes chance over rigorous security screening, making it vulnerable to abuse.
Earlier this year, the administration imposed tighter restrictions on immigration from several developing nations following a separate incident in Washington involving an Afghan national suspected of shooting two National Guard soldiers. Trump has also proposed a $100,000 application fee for H-1B visas, widely used by technology companies to hire skilled foreign workers.
Beyond visa policy, the administration is accelerating plans for expanded immigration enforcement. This includes a dramatic increase in detention capacity, with proposals to establish up to two dozen large-scale warehouse “mega centers” across the country as part of a broader effort to deter unlawful entry and overstays.
The pause of the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is expected to face legal and political scrutiny, particularly from immigration advocates who argue the system promotes lawful, merit-neutral pathways to residency. Administration officials, however, maintain that public safety concerns outweigh those arguments as the review process moves forward.
