Trump administration postpones green card lottery program, case related to Brown University shooting became the reason

International Desk

Washington: US President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the suspension of the Diversity Immigrant Visa i.e. Green Card Lottery Program. This decision was taken after the shooting incidents at Brown University and MIT, whose prime suspect had entered the US under this program.

While giving information on the social media platform ‘X’, Homeland Security Department Secretary Kristi Noem said that on the instructions of President Trump, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been ordered to stop this program immediately. “This was a despicable individual who should never have been allowed into our country,” he said.

According to authorities, Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national, was the prime suspect in the Brown University shooting. Two students died in the incident, while nine others were injured. Additionally, an MIT professor also lost his life in a separate shooting incident. Later Thursday evening, Neves Valente reportedly committed suicide by shooting himself.

According to an affidavit from a Providence police detective, Neves Valente came to Brown University in 2000 on a student visa. Later in 2017, she was issued a diversity immigrant visa and within a few months she received legal permanent residence (green card) status. However, it is not clear where he was during the period between leaving his studies in 2001 and getting the visa in 2017.

Under the Diversity Visa Lottery Program, approximately 50,000 green cards are awarded through lottery each year to citizens of countries that are underrepresented in the United States. Many African countries are included in these. This program was started by Congress, so it is considered certain to face legal challenges regarding its postponement.

According to statistics, about two crore people had applied for the 2025 visa lottery program. More than 1.31 lakh people including the winners and their spouses were selected. After selection, candidates have to go through interviews and a rigorous screening process at embassies. Citizens of Portugal got only 38 seats in this lottery.

It is noteworthy that President Trump has long been critical of the Diversity Visa Lottery Program and has called it risky for America’s immigration security.