President Trump Officially Suspends U.S. Green Card Lottery Program
U.S Green Card program
President Trump Officially Suspends U.S. Green Card Lottery Program
In a significant and controversial policy shift, President Donald Trump has officially suspended the United States’ Green Card Lottery Program, also known as the Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) Program. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the suspension Thursday night, stating that the move came at President Trump’s direction amid concerns over national security and recent violent incidents.
The Diversity Visa Program was established by Congress under the Immigration and Nationality Act to promote immigrant diversity by granting up to 50,000 permanent resident visas annually to individuals from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. It was widely seen as a pathway that enhances cultural and economic diversity within U.S. communities.
According to the administration, the decision to halt the program is directly linked to the case of Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a Portuguese national and former Brown University student who entered the United States through the diversity visa lottery in 2017 and later gained permanent residency status. Valente is suspected of carrying out deadly shootings at Brown University, where two students were killed and nine others injured, and the fatal shooting of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor. Officials later reported that Valente died by suicide.
Secretary Noem took to the social platform X to explain the administration’s rationale, stating, “This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” and that suspending the program would help prevent similar tragedies in the future. She confirmed that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been ordered to pause the DV program immediately.
The suspension represents one of the most significant overhauls of U.S. immigration policy in recent years. President Trump has long expressed opposition to the diversity visa lottery, arguing that the program poses security risks. His supporters argue that limiting pathways like the Green Card Lottery is necessary to safeguard the nation. Critics, however, say the decision unfairly penalizes millions of prospective immigrants and undermines the long-standing goal of fostering cultural diversity in the United States.
The move has already sparked widespread debate both domestically and internationally. Immigration advocates warn that this suspension could devastate families and communities who see the DV lottery as a legal and hopeful path toward permanent residency. They also question the legal basis for the suspension, suggesting that such a change may face significant challenges in federal courts, since the lottery was created by statute and traditionally requires Congressional action to alter fundamentally.
For the 2025 cycle, nearly 20 million individuals applied for the lottery, with more than 131,000 selected (including spouses and children) to proceed with visa processing many of whom now face uncertainty about their immigration status and future prospects.
As this story continues to develop, legal analysts and immigrant communities alike are watching closely to see how the administration implements the suspension and what legal and diplomatic challenges may arise in its wake.
