The Donald Trump administration has found a new way to combat mass shootings. Following the December 13 tragedy at Brown University that claimed the lives of two students, Trump decided to suspend the diversity visa program.
You might be wondering how stopping a visa program would curb shooting incidents.
However, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem noted, Brown University shooting suspect Claudio Manuel Neves Valente was a Portuguese national who entered the US through a green card lottery.
In response to the incident, Noem took to X on Thursday night to announce the suspension of the program.
She wrote, “The Brown University shooter, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente entered the United States through the diversity lottery immigrant visa program (DV1) in 2017 and was granted a green card. This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country.”
The Brown University shooter, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente entered the United States through the diversity lottery immigrant visa program (DV1) in 2017 and was granted a green card. This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country.
In 2017, President Trump…
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) December 19, 2025
Trump has been critical of the DV1 lottery system for a long time. The program began in 1990 and approved up to 50,000 green cards, i.e., permanent resident cards, every year for applicants from countries with limited representation in the US.
The applicants are selected randomly via a lottery process and are further vetted before their entry into the country.
The program first became a hot topic of discussion in 2017 when an Uzbek citizen slammed a pickup truck into a crowd and killed eight individuals. Eight years later, the government has paused the program.
As Noem wrote on X, “At President Trump’s direction, I am immediately directing USCIS to pause the DV1 program to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program.”
While the Trump administration cited the Brown University shooting as the reason behind stopping the DV1 program, critics have argued that the government is using a tragedy to promote its anti-immigration agenda.
One social media user wrote, “Every single tragedy that happens Trump targets immigrants. He’s not beating the conspiracy’s.”
Another commented, “He uses everything as an excuse to attack people he doesn’t like.”
He uses everything as an excuse to attack people he doesn’t like.
— WarMonitor (@TheWarMonitor) December 19, 2025
On the other hand, some people supported the move, arguing that the program should have been stopped way back.
So, the Brown University murderer came here on the GREEN CARD LOTTERY. “diversity visa” program. It needs to be abolished. I’ve never heard a good argument for it.
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) December 19, 2025
One supporter posted, “That program should be permanently discontinued. It is gambling with Americans’ lives. I’ve been saying this since 2017.”
A second one remarked, “This is not the only terrible program. You need to stop them all until we can reform the entire system. No random green card lotteries should exist in any capacity.”
This is not the only terrible program. You need to stop them all until we can reform the entire system.
No random green card lotteries should exist in any capacity.
— ₿IGG COLE 🇦🇺 (@biggcole_) December 19, 2025
Coming back to how it all started, on December 13, a man opened fire on students at Brown University, claiming two innocent lives and injuring nine others.
Two days later, MIT professor Nuno Loureiro was murdered at his home, allegedly by the same suspect.
The suspect was later identified as 48-year-old Valente, who was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot on Thursday.
While the motive behind the shooting has not come out, it has been reported that Valente was a former student at Brown. He enrolled at the University as a PhD candidate before dropping out. In 2017, he received a green card through the DV1 program.
