The Trump administration just pulled the plug on the U.S. Green Card lottery program, pointing to the recent shootings at Brown University and MIT as the final straw.
The Lottery Gets Cancelled
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the suspension on Thursday, acting on President Donald Trump's directive. The move targets what's officially called the DV1 or Diversity Immigrant Visa Program—a system that hands out up to 50,000 immigrant visas each year through random lottery to people from countries with historically low U.S. immigration rates.
"I am immediately directing USCIS to pause the DV1 program to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program," Noem wrote on X. She specifically linked the decision to Claudio Neves Valente, the suspect in the campus shootings who entered the country through this very pathway.
Valente, a Portuguese national, first arrived in the U.S. on a student visa back in 2000 and later secured permanent residency through the lottery program in 2017. Authorities found him dead Thursday evening from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Cameras and Crackdowns
Trump didn't stop at immigration policy. He criticized Brown University for inadequate security camera coverage after the FBI faced public backlash for arresting and then releasing a suspect in the fatal shooting due to insufficient evidence. The surveillance gap became another flashpoint in the broader debate.
This suspension isn't happening in isolation. Back in November, the administration launched a comprehensive review of green cards connected to 19 "countries of concern" following an incident where an Afghan evacuee shot two West Virginia National Guard members near the White House.
Trump's immigration enforcement approach has sparked serious pushback. Earlier this month, 20 states led by California sued the administration over a $100,000 fee slapped onto H-1B visa petitions. The states called the fee unlawful and argued it threatens public sectors that depend on skilled foreign workers to function properly.
What started as a response to campus violence has become the latest chapter in a much larger immigration policy battle that's reshaping how America handles foreign nationals—from lottery winners to specialized workers.