United States President Donald Trump has suspended the Diversity Visa Lottery programme, commonly known as the green card lottery, following the recent shootings at Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Thursday that, at President Trump’s direction, she has ordered the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to pause the programme.
“This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” Noem said in a post on X, referring to the suspect, 48-year-old Portuguese national Claudio Manuel Neves Valente.
Neves Valente is suspected of carrying out a mass shooting at Brown University on December 13, killing two students and wounding nine others during a finals review session. He is also believed to have fatally shot MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro two days later at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Authorities found Neves Valente dead on Thursday evening in a storage facility in New Hampshire from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, ending a multi-state manhunt.
Officials said Neves Valente, a former Brown University student who attended the institution on a student visa from 2000 to 2001, obtained legal permanent residence status in 2017 through the Diversity Visa programme.
The programme, established by Congress, allocates up to 50,000 green cards annually through a lottery to individuals from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States, including many in Africa.
Nearly 20 million people applied for the 2025 lottery, with more than 131,000 selected, including spouses of winners. Winners undergo thorough vetting, consular interviews, and the same requirements as other green card applicants. Portuguese citizens secured only 38 slots in the 2025 lottery.
President Trump has long criticised the Diversity Visa programme, arguing it prioritises random selection over merit-based immigration.
The suspension, which comes amid the administration’s broader efforts to restrict legal and illegal immigration, is expected to face legal challenges as the programme is enshrined in law.
This move follows previous actions, such as restrictions on immigration from certain countries after other incidents, and aligns with ongoing pushes for mass deportations and limits on legal pathways to residency.