DHS Secretary Kristi Noem suspended the diversity visa lottery program after a Portuguese national who entered through the program killed two students at Brown University and a MIT professor.
Story Highlights
- Claudio Manuel Neves Valente used diversity visa program to enter U.S. in 2017 before killing spree
- DHS immediately paused program citing public safety concerns and past terrorist attacks
- Brown University shooting left two dead, nine injured; MIT professor also murdered
- Program randomly distributes 50,000 visas annually without proper vetting protocols
Swift Action Against Failed Immigration Policy
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem ordered the immediate suspension of the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program following revelations that gunman Claudio Manuel Neves Valente exploited the system to gain entry.
Noem instructed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to halt all DV1 program operations, declaring the need to prevent further American casualties from this fundamentally flawed immigration pathway.
The decisive action represents a stark departure from previous administrative policies that prioritized diversity over thorough security screening.
#Breaking: President Trump suspends green card lottery program that allowed suspect in Brown University shooting and killing of MIT professor into the United States.https://t.co/rPZVMYxuU8
— NBC 10 WJAR (@NBC10) December 19, 2025
Deadly Rampage Exposes Security Vulnerabilities
On December 13, 2025, Valente opened fire at Brown University’s physics building, killing two students and wounding nine others before fleeing the scene.
The 48-year-old Portuguese national, who had previously studied physics at the university in 2000, continued his killing spree two days later by murdering MIT professor Nuno Loureiro in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Police discovered Valente’s body in a New Hampshire storage facility on December 18, ending the manhunt that terrorized multiple communities across New England.
Program’s Dangerous History of Exploitation
Noem highlighted the diversity visa program’s troubling track record, noting that President Trump previously attempted to eliminate it following the 2017 NYC truck attack.
An ISIS terrorist who killed eight people in that devastating ramming incident had also gained entry through the DV1 program, demonstrating a clear pattern of national security failures.
The lottery system randomly distributes up to 50,000 immigrant visas annually without adequate vetting mechanisms, creating dangerous gaps in America’s immigration security infrastructure.
Constitutional Duty to Protect Americans
The suspension reflects the Trump administration’s commitment to prioritizing American lives over politically correct immigration policies that compromise national security.
This decisive response demonstrates how proper leadership addresses immigration failures that previous administrations ignored or defended despite mounting evidence of systemic problems.
The diversity visa program’s random selection process fundamentally contradicts merit-based immigration principles that should govern who receives the privilege of American residency and citizenship.
