Overview
Summary:
- President Trump has put a stop to the diversity visa lottery after it was revealed that the shooter involved in recent university attacks entered the U.S. through this program.
- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described the shooter as a “heinous individual” who should not have been permitted entry into the country.
- This suspension aligns with Trump’s long-term goal for immigration reform, which he initially proposed in 2018 during discussions on Dreamer amnesty.
- The lottery program randomly awards 50,000 green cards each year, attracting nearly 23 million applicants in 2020.
President Trump has officially suspended the diversity visa lottery program after authorities disclosed that the gunman responsible for this month’s university shootings entered the United States via this chance-based immigration system.
On Thursday night, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, who attacked Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before taking his own life, had gained entry to the U.S. through this lottery program.
Noem stated, “This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” adding that President Trump directed her to terminate the program.
The suspension of this program fulfills President Trump’s longstanding objective for immigration reform. He first suggested ending the lottery in 2018 as part of negotiations to provide amnesty for illegal immigrant “Dreamers” in exchange for funding a border wall and imposing new restrictions on family migration.
Mr. Valente, a Portuguese national who previously studied at Brown University earlier this century, received his immigration status through a system that grants 50,000 green cards annually based on random selection rather than employment qualifications or family connections.
This program garners significant global interest; nearly 15 million applications covering over 23 million individuals were submitted in 2020 alone.
