On December 19, 2025, the United States government announced an immediate suspension of the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program—commonly known as the green card lottery—following two high-profile shootings that rattled the academic communities of Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The move, directed by President Donald Trump and executed by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, has reignited fierce debate over the future of America’s legal immigration system and the security risks associated with its lesser-known pathways.
The decision came in the wake of a harrowing week that began with a mass shooting at Brown University on December 13. According to BBC News, a gunman burst into the university’s engineering building during final exams, killing two students—Ella Cook, 19, of Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, an Uzbek-American—and injuring nine others. Just two days later, authorities believe the same suspect fatally shot MIT professor Nuno F. Gomes Loureiro at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, about 80 kilometers from Providence, Rhode Island.
The suspect, identified as 48-year-old Portuguese national Claudio Neves Valente, was a former Brown University graduate student in physics. Valente entered the United States in 2000 on a student visa but became a lawful permanent resident in 2017 through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, according to Reuters and Newsweek. His academic stint at Brown was brief—he enrolled in the fall of 2000, took a leave of absence in April 2001, and formally withdrew two years later. Brown University President Christina Paxson confirmed Valente “had no current active affiliation” with the school at the time of the shootings.
The manhunt for Valente ended on December 18, when police found him dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire. Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha told BBC News that evidence recovered at the scene—including two firearms and a satchel—matched ballistic and forensic evidence from both the Brown and MIT shootings. Authorities pieced together Valente’s movements through video evidence, witness accounts, and car rental records, ultimately linking him to both attacks.
Despite the exhaustive investigation, officials have not provided any motive for the shootings. Police have stated there was no evidence Valente knew the Brown students he killed or the nine he injured. Both Valente and Professor Loureiro had studied at the same university in Portugal in the late 1990s, but the nature of their relationship remains unclear. The lack of a clear motive has only deepened the sense of shock and unease surrounding the case.
The shootings quickly became a political flashpoint. On December 19, Secretary Noem announced on social media, “At President Trump’s direction, I am immediately directing USCIS to pause the DV1 program to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program.” In a statement echoed by Axios, NPR, and Newsweek, she said, “This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country.”
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, created by Congress, randomly allocates up to 55,000 visas each year to applicants from countries with historically low immigration rates to the United States. Winners must meet education, work, and background requirements, and undergo security checks, interviews, and medical screenings before being granted a green card, as detailed by Newsweek. In 2025, nearly 20 million people applied for the lottery, with more than 131,000 selected when including spouses of winners. Portuguese citizens, like Valente, won just 38 slots that year.
President Trump’s opposition to the program is not new. After a 2017 truck-ramming attack in New York City by Sayfullo Saipov, an Uzbek national who entered the U.S. through the DV1 program, Trump called for its elimination, saying it was "picking the worst of the worst." The program was briefly suspended in 2020, but President Joe Biden lifted the block in 2021. Trump’s latest move is seen by some, including critics cited by NPR, as part of a broader strategy to restrict legal immigration avenues, even those enshrined in law by Congress.
Supporters of the suspension, including Trump and Noem, argue that the lottery is a security risk. Noem emphasized, “In 2017, President Trump fought to end this program, following the devastating NYC truck ramming by an ISIS terrorist, who entered under the DV1 program, and murdered eight people.” She added, “We must ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program.”
Opponents, however, see the suspension as a reactionary measure that unfairly targets legal immigrants and sows fear. Immigration advocates and some lawmakers point out that lottery recipients must already pass rigorous vetting, and that the vast majority become law-abiding, productive residents. The program’s defenders argue that using isolated incidents to justify sweeping policy changes undermines the nation’s long-standing commitment to diversity and opportunity.
Legal experts predict the suspension will face immediate court challenges. As NPR reported, the lottery was created by Congress and its abrupt halt by executive order is “almost certain to invite legal challenges.” The Supreme Court is already set to hear Trump’s challenge to birthright citizenship, highlighting the administration’s willingness to test the limits of immigration law.
For now, the future of the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program hangs in the balance. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been ordered to pause all new lottery admissions, pending further review. Applicants and their families—many of whom have waited years for a chance at legal residency—face fresh uncertainty. Meanwhile, the communities at Brown University and MIT continue to grieve the loss of students and a beloved professor, searching for answers and a path forward.
The shockwaves from these tragic events are still being felt, not just in Providence and Cambridge, but across the nation. The debate over how best to balance national security with America’s tradition of welcoming newcomers is far from settled, and the suspension of the green card lottery is certain to remain at the center of that conversation for months to come.
