Trump Pauses US Green Card Lottery in Wake of Brown University & MIT Shootings

Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security Secretary, has authorised the suspension of the green card lottery program at Donald Trump’s advice. As a reason for her step, she remarked that it allowed the suspect in the Brown University and MIT shootings to enter the US.

Our EB-1A Consultancy has broken down this news in clear details so you can learn who is going to be affected and what exactly this big update means.

Who was the suspect in the gun violence, and how does it relate to immigration?

The suspect in the gun violence is Claudio Neves Valente, a Portuguese national. He initially entered the US on a student visa in 2000 and afterwards became a permanent resident in 2017. Valente was killed on Thursday evening from a self-inflicted gunshot wound self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Trump administration has compared this incident of gun violence to the recent fatal attack on National Guard members in November.

In the context of the recent violence, Kristi Noem reportedly wrote on X: “This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country.”

The Trump administration is known to voice fiercely against the diversity visa lottery. The announcement of Kristi Noem would be the latest nail in the coffin of the diversity visa program.

So what exactly is the diversity visa program?

The DV1, or the diversity visa program, is comprised of 50,000 green cards, which are available each year by lottery for people from countries least represented in the US. Africa falls among the countries as well. Last year, around 20 million people applied for the 2025 visa lottery. Among them, more than 131,000 candidates were selected as winners. But winning the lottery is not a sufficient criterion itself. The candidates will also have to undergo further vetting and screening. Lottery winners are afterwards invited to apply for a green card. They usually fall under the same vetting/screening requirements as other green card applicants.

Interestingly, Kristi Noem’s measure is only going to affect the diversity visa program. The merit-based visa programs are not going to be interfered with or impacted by this comment.

Our EB-1 experts dedicatedly mentor professionals with extraordinary ability to strengthen the merit-based permanent residency pathway. For more personalized suggestions, you can directly reach out to us.

Sources & Further Readings

• The Guardian. “Trump Suspends US Green Card Lottery in Wake of Brown University and MIT Shootings.” The Guardian, December 19, 2025.
• BBC News.“US Suspends Green Card Lottery Scheme After Brown Shooting.” BBC News., December 19, 2025.
• Associated Press. “Trump Suspends Green Card Lottery Program That Let Brown University, MIT Shootings Suspect into US.” AP News, December 19, 2025.