Diaspora

Trump Suspends Green Card Lottery Program Following Campus Shooting

WASHINGTON — The diversity immigrant visa program has been placed on immediate hold by President Donald Trump in response to a deadly campus shooting that claimed multiple lives at an Ivy League institution.

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Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem revealed the executive decision Thursday, directing the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to freeze all operations related to the program. The directive comes after investigators determined the individual responsible for the Brown University attack had immigrated to the United States under this pathway seven years ago.

The December 13 incident at the Providence campus left two students dead after violence erupted inside an academic building. A faculty member also perished in the rampage, which wounded nine additional individuals before the assailant was discovered deceased from what authorities believe was a self-inflicted injury. Officials identified the perpetrator as a Portuguese national who obtained residency through the visa lottery system.

“The President has instructed me to suspend the DV1 initiative immediately to prevent further tragedies stemming from this flawed approach,” Noem stated in her announcement.

The Secretary emphasized that the administration has maintained consistent opposition to the lottery-based immigration method, citing previous incidents tied to the program. She referenced a 2017 vehicle attack in New York City that resulted in eight fatalities, perpetrated by someone who had similarly gained entry through the diversity visa channel.

The suspension represents a significant policy shift affecting numerous nations whose citizens have historically utilized the program as an immigration avenue. Kenya stands among the countries where substantial numbers of applicants have successfully secured American residency through this mechanism.

The diversity visa initiative operates through computerized random selection, offering approximately 50,000 permanent residency permits annually to applicants from countries with historically low immigration rates to the United States. Successful participants gain authorization to relocate for employment, education, or family reunification purposes.

The White House has not indicated whether the suspension will be temporary or if legislation will be pursued to permanently eliminate the program.