Trump suspends green card lottery program after Brown University shooting

President Trump ordered the suspension of the Diversity Visa Program (green card lottery) following a mass shooting at Brown University on December 13, 2025, that killed two students and wounded nine. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the suspension, claiming the program "allowed the suspect in the Brown University and MIT shootings to come to the U.S." This framing is misleading: the suspect, Claudio Neves Valente, a Portuguese national, initially entered on a student visa in 2000 and became a permanent resident through the diversity visa program in 2017—during Trump's own first term, meaning his administration approved the residency. The suspension halts one of the few legal migration pathways heavily used by African immigrants and could face immediate legal challenges. The Diversity Visa Program was created to promote immigration from underrepresented countries and awards approximately 50,000 visas annually through a lottery system.

"allowed the suspect in the Brown University and MIT shootings to come to the U.S." — Statement by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announcing the suspension, omitting that the suspect's permanent residency was approved during Trump's first administration in 2017