In a dramatic turn for U.S. immigration policy, President Donald Trump on December 18, 2025, ordered the immediate suspension of the Diversity Visa Lottery—commonly known as the green card lottery—following revelations that the suspect in two deadly campus shootings had entered the country through the program. The move, announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, has sparked debate, legal uncertainty, and anxiety among would-be immigrants around the world.
The Diversity Visa Program, established by Congress in the 1990s, was designed to broaden the immigrant pool by randomly allocating up to 50,000 green cards annually to people from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. The program has long been popular: nearly 20 million people applied for the 2025 lottery, with more than 131,000 selected when including spouses and dependents, according to reporting from AP and Boundless.
The catalyst for this sudden policy shift came after law enforcement identified Portuguese national Claudio Neves Valente, 48, as the prime suspect in two separate attacks: a December 13 shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, that left two students dead and nine others wounded, and the December 15 killing of MIT physics professor Nuno Loureiro in Brookline, Massachusetts. According to QNA and AP, Valente, who first arrived in the U.S. on a student visa in 2000 to study at Brown, later obtained a diversity immigrant visa in 2017, which granted him legal permanent residency.
The search for Valente ended on December 18, when he was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a New Hampshire storage facility, as confirmed by Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez. "There's no longer a threat to the public," the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston stated after Valente's death was confirmed, according to AP.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, announcing the suspension, was unequivocal in her condemnation. "This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country," Noem posted on X, formerly Twitter. She added, "I have instructed the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to pause the lottery, calling it a loophole that jeopardized national safety." Her words echoed the Trump administration’s broader stance on immigration, which has prioritized strict controls and has not shied away from using high-profile crimes to justify sweeping policy changes.
President Trump’s opposition to the Diversity Visa Program is not new. As Boundless and AP note, he previously called for its abolition after the 2017 New York City truck attack, which was carried out by an ISIS terrorist who also entered the U.S. under the program. The administration’s latest move, however, is the most aggressive yet, halting a pathway that has brought tens of thousands of immigrants to the U.S. each year.
The Diversity Visa Lottery is, by design, highly competitive and subject to strict vetting. Applicants must meet education or work experience requirements, undergo background checks, and complete interviews before being granted a visa. Lottery winners are invited to apply for a green card and are subject to the same stringent requirements as other applicants. According to QNA and Boundless, only 38 Portuguese citizens were selected for the 2025 lottery, highlighting the program’s global reach and selectivity.
Despite these safeguards, the Trump administration has portrayed the program as a national security risk. "This monster should never have been allowed into our country," Noem wrote, directly linking the tragedy to the policy. The move has been framed as a public safety measure, but critics argue that it uses isolated incidents to justify broad restrictions on legal immigration.
Legal experts and immigration advocates are now questioning the administration’s authority to unilaterally suspend a program established by Congress. As Boundless reports, most diversity visas are issued by the State Department, not USCIS, and a full suspension would typically require congressional action or a presidential proclamation. The legal basis for the pause remains murky, raising the prospect of imminent court challenges.
For those caught in the middle, the suspension has created immediate uncertainty. Applicants who were recently selected, or who are preparing to apply, now face delays and confusion. "If you were selected in a previous lottery: Gather required documents and monitor updates from the State Department and USCIS, as interview scheduling may slow," Boundless advises. Prospective applicants are urged to review eligibility rules and stay alert for new guidance, but for now, the future of the program—and their dreams of U.S. residency—hangs in the balance.
The shootings themselves have added a layer of tragedy to the policy debate. Brown University President Christina H. Paxson confirmed that Valente had been enrolled in a Ph.D. program in physics at the university in 2000. Authorities later revealed that Valente and Professor Loureiro had attended the same academic program at a Portuguese university in 1995, according to Piri. The connection between the suspect and his victims has fueled further speculation about motive, though details remain scarce.
International observers are also watching closely. The United States’ approach to legal immigration is often mirrored or scrutinized by other countries, such as Türkiye, which has emphasized the need for orderly and lawful migration processes. The indefinite suspension of the green card lottery is likely to reverberate far beyond America’s borders, affecting diplomatic relations and the lives of millions hoping for a chance at a new life in the U.S.
While the Trump administration has not specified how long the suspension will last or whether it intends to propose permanent changes, the move marks a significant escalation in its efforts to reshape U.S. immigration policy. The Diversity Visa Lottery was previously paused in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, only to be revived under President Biden in 2021. Now, with the latest suspension, the program’s future is once again uncertain.
As the legal and political battles unfold, one thing is clear: the intersection of immigration policy and public safety remains a deeply contentious issue in American life. The abrupt halt to the Diversity Visa Lottery, triggered by a shocking crime, has reignited old debates and left thousands of families in limbo—waiting, once more, for answers from Washington.
