Donald Trump shuts down green card lottery program following mass shootings

The Trump administration has officially suspended the Diversity Visa Program, popularly known as the "Green Card Lottery," following a series of tragic shootings at Brown University and MIT. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued the directive at the President's request, effectively closing a pathway that provided up to 50,000 permanent residency visas annually. President Trump has long been a vocal critic of the program, arguing that it relies on chance rather than merit-based vetting and poses a risk to national security.

The decision was triggered by revelations regarding Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, the 48-year-old Portuguese national suspected in the recent campus attacks that killed two students and an MIT professor. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed on social media that Valente had entered the United States in 2017 through the Diversity Visa Program. She described the suspect as a "heinous individual" and emphasized that the suspension is necessary to prevent similar threats from entering the country.

Legal experts and immigration advocates expect the move to face immediate challenges in court, as the lottery was originally established by Congress. However, the administration maintains that the President has the executive authority to pause the program under national security mandates. The suspension comes at a time when nearly 20 million people had applied for the 2025 cycle, leaving the status of thousands of current "lottery winners" in a state of legal limbo.