In a swift response to a deadly campus shooting, President Donald Trump has directed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to suspend the U.S. Diversity Visa program, known as the green card lottery. The move comes days after Portuguese national Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a beneficiary of the program, was identified as the suspect in the killing of two Brown University students and an MIT professor. Noem announced the pause late Thursday on X, stating she instructed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to halt the DV-1 program “to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program.”

The tragedy unfolded on December 13 at Brown University’s Barus & Holley engineering building in Providence, Rhode Island, where Valente allegedly opened fire, killing students Ella Cook and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov and wounding nine others. Two days later, on December 15, he is suspected of murdering MIT physics professor Nuno Loureiro in Brookline, Massachusetts. Valente, 48, was found dead Thursday in a New Hampshire storage facility, surrounded by guns, ending the manhunt, according to CNBC.

Valente had entered the U.S. in 2017 via the Diversity Visa lottery, receiving a green card after winning one of the 50,000 annual slots reserved for applicants from countries with low U.S. immigration rates. A former Brown Ph.D. student in physics around 2000, and a compatriot of Loureiro from Portugal, Valente’s path from visa winner to alleged mass shooter has ignited fierce debate over the program’s vetting.

Roots of a Controversial Lottery

Enacted in 1990 to promote diversity, the DV program draws entries from millions worldwide, selecting winners randomly without regard for skills or employment. Critics, including Trump during his first term, have long targeted it for security risks. Noem referenced a 2017 New York City truck attack by an ISIS sympathizer who entered via DV, killing eight—a case Trump cited in pushing for its elimination, as noted in her X post and echoed in CBS News.

The program mandates basic eligibility checks—high school equivalency or two years of skilled work, no serious crimes—but lacks the rigorous screening of employment-based visas. In fiscal 2025, over 22 million applied for DV-2027, per USCIS data. Winners undergo medical exams and interviews, yet Noem argued the lottery’s randomness invites threats, a view amplified post-shooting across outlets like The Washington Post.

Trump’s first administration slashed DV admissions via travel bans and processing delays, admitting just 6,000 in 2020 versus 55,000 in 2016. Congress has resisted full repeal, with Democrats defending it as equitable access for underrepresented nations.

Shooting Timeline Unravels

Brown University alerts on X detailed the chaos: initial shelter-in-place orders, confirmation of two deaths, and eight critically injured. President Christina H. Paxson later mourned Cook and Umurzokov as “two young people full of promise.” Valente, who briefly studied at Brown two decades prior, evaded capture until Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez confirmed his death, declaring “no longer a threat to the public,” per the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston, as reported by The Guardian.

Investigators link Valente and Loureiro to the University of Lisbon, suggesting a personal grudge, though no motive is public. Guns at the storage site bolster the lone-wolf theory. Brown’s engineering building, a hub for physics research, became an improbable flashpoint, drawing parallels to other visa-linked crimes scrutinized in Axios.

FBI and local authorities coordinated the probe, with posts on X from BrownUniversity revealing real-time fear—over 3.6 million views on the initial alert. Valente’s green card status, inactive Ph.D. pursuit, and Portuguese roots paint a profile of quiet integration turned violent.

Noem’s Directive and Legal Ground

Noem, a Trump appointee and South Dakota governor, framed the suspension as immediate executive action under the president’s direction. “President Trump fought to end this program” after the 2017 attack, she wrote on X, per NPR. USCIS must now freeze DV-2026 processing, affecting thousands midway, including interviews scheduled through September 2026.

Legal experts question durability: the program is congressionally mandated, and past pauses faced lawsuits. Immigration advocates decry politicization, arguing one case doesn’t justify blanket halt. Industry insiders note ripple effects—employers in tech and academia rely on diverse talent pipelines, though DV fills just 5% of green cards.

Trump’s team eyes permanent repeal via legislation or regulation, building on 2017-2021 efforts. Noem’s X activity, historically anti-sanctuary and tough-on-crime, underscores her role, with posts from KristiNoem amplifying border security themes.

Program’s Global Reach and Backlash

DV visas target nations like Portugal—low senders relative to Mexico or China—with 2024 winners hailing from Africa, Europe, and Asia. Success stories abound: doctors, entrepreneurs building U.S. lives. Yet terror links persist; Sayfullo Saipov’s 2017 rampage fueled Trump’s merit-based overhaul pitch, as in his 2017 X post archived widely.

Post-suspension, applicants flood forums; X buzz from realDonaldTrump allies cheers the move, while critics like BrownUniversity’s measured grief posts highlight human cost over policy. BBC reports international dismay, with Portugal probing Valente’s background.

Economists weigh trade-offs: DV boosts GDP via young workers, per Migration Policy Institute, but security hawks cite FBI watchlists—over 300 DV entrants flagged since 2001, though few acted.

Immigration Policy at Inflection

This pause signals Trump’s second-term priorities: mass deportations, visa tightening. Noem’s DHS, overseeing 250,000 staff, pivots from Biden expansions. Brown and MIT incidents, tied to one suspect, amplify calls for biometric vetting and AI screening pilots discussed in The New York Times.

Stakeholders brace: universities face enrollment hits, as Brown’s international cohort exceeds 20%. Tech firms lobby preservation of skilled paths, distinguishing DV from H-1B. Congress, gridlocked, may force compromise by 2026 deadline.

X sentiment splits—pro-Trump voices hail protection, opponents warn xenophobia. Valente’s case, absent clear radicalism, tests narratives, demanding deeper reforms amid rising scrutiny.