Trump Suspends “Green Card” Lottery

U.S. President Donald Trump has decided to temporarily suspend the Diversity Visa program, commonly known as the “green card” lottery. This program was the pathway through which a suspect involved in shootings at Brown University and MIT had entered the United States.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced on her X (formerly Twitter) account that, under Trump’s orders, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has been instructed to pause the program.

“Such a person should never have been allowed into our country,” said Kristi Noem, referring to Portuguese citizen Claudio Neves Valente.

48-year-old Claudio Neves Valente is accused of being responsible for the deaths of two students during the Brown University shooting, injuries to nine others, and the death of an MIT professor. Official reports indicate that he later died by suicide.

According to investigation materials, Valente enrolled at Brown University in 2000 on a student visa. In 2017, he obtained an immigration visa through the Diversity Visa program and a few months later received permanent residency in the U.S. However, it remains unclear where he was between 2001, when he temporarily left his studies, and 2017.

The Diversity Visa program grants up to 50,000 “green cards” annually to citizens of countries underrepresented in U.S. immigration. The program was established by congressional decision, and its suspension could trigger legal challenges.

Donald Trump has long opposed the Diversity Visa program. Experts interpret this decision as an effort to tighten U.S. immigration policy in response to the recent tragedy. Previously, the Trump administration had taken several steps to restrict immigration. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review Trump’s initiative regarding birthright citizenship.