Trump Suspends US Green Card Lottery Following University Shootings

President Donald Trump has ordered the suspension of the United States green card lottery programme following recent university shootings. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the directive during a news briefing on Friday, noting that the programme allowed the suspect in the Brown University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology shootings to enter the country.

The Diversity Visa Immigrant Programme, also known as the DV1 lottery, grants up to 50,000 green cards annually through a lottery system. In 2025, nearly 20 million people applied, with more than 131,000 selected to proceed through the vetting process required to enter the US.

Trump has long expressed opposition to the lottery programme. Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez confirmed that the suspect, Portuguese national Claudio Neves Valente, first entered the US on a student visa in 2000 and became a permanent resident in 2017. Valente was found dead Thursday evening from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Noem criticized the lottery on social media, saying Valente “should never have been allowed in our country.” The announcement follows a pattern of the Trump administration using violent incidents to justify tighter immigration policies. After a November attack on National Guard members by an Afghan man, new restrictions were imposed on immigration from Afghanistan and several other countries.

In the 2025 DV1 programme, Portuguese citizens were awarded only 38 slots. Lottery winners typically undergo interviews at consulates and the same vetting process as other green card applicants before being granted permanent residency.