Green Card Lottery Suspended Following Brown University Shooting Incident

Fri Dec 19 2025 23:58:19 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a response to the tragic shooting at Brown University that left two students dead, President Trump has put a hold on the green card lottery scheme connected to the suspect, Claudio Neves Valente. This decision comes as part of his administration's ongoing concerns over immigration and security.

Following a mass shooting at Brown University that resulted in two fatalities, President Trump has announced the suspension of the green card lottery program. The shooter, Claudio Neves Valente, a Portuguese national who obtained his visa through this program, committed these violent acts after being considered a threat. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated this halt aims to prevent further tragedies related to the visa scheme. The individual is also believed to have had connections to a recent homicide of an MIT professor, intensifying scrutiny over the program's safety implications.

President Donald Trump has suspended the US green card lottery scheme in light of a mass shooting incident at Brown University, where two students tragically lost their lives.

The alleged shooter, a Portuguese national named Claudio Neves Valente, had entered the United States through the Diversity Visa Lottery program in 2017. His unexpected actions have raised serious questions about the program's effectiveness and safety.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the suspension of the visa scheme under Trump's directive, stating it is crucial to safeguard American lives by halting a program that they consider disastrous.

Valente is believed to have also been responsible for the earlier murder of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro. Officials reported that he had a prior affiliation with both institutions, having studied at the same university in Portugal.

Noem referenced past incidents, noting that previously in 2017, Trump sought to end the program after a truck attack in New York City linked to an individual who also received a visa through the same lottery.

The shooting occurred during final examinations on December 13, resulting in the deaths of Ella Cook, 19, from Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, an Uzbek-American who had just begun his studies at Brown University.

Valente was discovered deceased in a storage facility by police, believed to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound as authorities continued their investigation into his activities.

This incident has reignited the debate over immigration policies in the US, particularly those related to the lottery system that allows entry to individuals from countries with historically low immigration rates to the US.

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