On December 19, 2025, at precisely 08:13:02.937Z, Business Insider released a report accessible exclusively to its subscribers, announcing a major statement from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. In her remarks, Secretary Noem declared that the Trump administration would impose an immediate pause on the United States Diversity Visa Lottery Program — a long-standing immigration initiative designed to encourage diversity in the country’s immigrant population by offering a limited number of permanent resident visas each year to individuals from nations with historically low rates of immigration to the United States.
According to Noem, this decision followed the Brown University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) shootings that had recently shocked university communities and the nation alike. In a post published on the social media platform X, Noem revealed that the suspect connected to both the Brown University tragedy and the MIT professor’s killing had entered the United States several years earlier, in 2017, through the same diversity visa program — commonly known as the green card lottery. Noem emphasized that President Donald Trump had long been a vocal critic of this particular visa system, which he viewed as deeply flawed and potentially compromising public safety.
In her official X statement, Secretary Noem wrote that she was acting under the direct instruction of President Trump. She explained that she had ordered the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to temporarily halt all activities associated with the DV-1, or Diversity Visa, program. The stated purpose of this suspension was, in her words, to ensure that no further Americans would be endangered by what she termed a “disastrous program.” Her language underscored a stance of urgency and determination, reflecting the administration’s view that the measure was a necessary step to protect national security and prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
The Diversity Visa Program — also referred to as the diversity immigrant visa or green card lottery — provides an annual total of approximately 55,000 visas to applicants from countries with minimal representation in previous U.S. immigration statistics. The program involves a rigorous, multi-step process that includes eligibility screening, interviews, and medical examinations, intended to verify an applicant’s qualifications and ensure compliance with U.S. immigration standards. Established with the broader goal of enriching the social and cultural diversity of the United States, the program has nevertheless been periodically criticized by political figures asserting that it lacks sufficient safeguards.
Authorities identified the suspect in the Brown and MIT incidents as a Portuguese national named Valente, a former student at Brown University. According to information disclosed at a Thursday press conference, Valente was discovered deceased in a storage facility located in New Hampshire, having apparently taken his own life with a gunshot wound. Officials reported that his actions left two victims dead and several others wounded in the Brown University shooting. Investigators further suggested that Valente was also linked to the recent killing of a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology earlier in the same week.
This sequence of events — encompassing a tragic act of violence across two prestigious academic institutions and the subsequent administrative response from the Department of Homeland Security — has reignited public discourse over the Diversity Visa Program’s future. The administration’s suspension indicates a profound shift in approach, prioritizing immediate national security concerns over the program’s longstanding mission to promote global inclusivity within the fabric of American society.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-administration-pauses-green-card-lottery-program-brown-university-2025-12
