Image: from Hosea Kirui, XDean @skirui_dean
By Open Chronicle Staff with Agencies
In the wake of the violent attacks at Brown University and the murder of an MIT professor, President Donald Trump has ordered the immediate suspension of the Diversity Visa (DV1) program, commonly known as the “green card lottery.”
The decision comes after it was confirmed that the suspect, 48-year-old Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, entered the United States through this specific immigration channel.
Suspension of the DV1 Program
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the directive via a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday night. Noem stated that Valente, a Portuguese national, entered the U.S. under the program in 2017.
“This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” Noem wrote. She further explained that at President Trump’s direction, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been ordered to pause the program to “ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program.”
The diversity visa program makes up to 55,000 green cards available annually to individuals from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the U.S. In 2025 alone, nearly 20 million people applied for the lottery.
Trump administration suspends Diversity Visa program, otherwise known as the green card lottery after the shootings at Brown University and MIT pic.twitter.com/dctJ38M0Ac
— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) December 19, 2025
New Details on the Suspect’s Background
As federal agents continue to piece together Valente’s history, new details have emerged regarding his connection to the victims:
- Academic Connection: While Valente was a former PhD student at Brown (2000–2001), The New York Times reports that he and the murdered MIT professor, Nuno Loureiro, were actually classmates in their native Portugal.
- The Attacks: Valente killed two students, Ella Cook, 19, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, at Brown’s Barus & Holley building on Saturday before fatally shooting Loureiro in Brookline on Monday.
- Investigation Status: FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Ted Docks confirmed Valente was found dead on Thursday from self-inflicted wounds. Although there are no outstanding suspects, Docks noted that 500 agents remain deployed to answer the “many questions” that remain.
A Long-Standing Policy Goal
President Trump has been a vocal critic of the green card lottery for years, previously calling for its termination following a 2017 terror attack in New York City, also linked to a DV1 recipient.
The suspension follows a recent pattern of tightening immigration controls under the Trump administration. In November, similar restrictions were imposed on immigration from Afghanistan and other nations following a fatal attack on National Guard members.
The administration has framed the suspension as a vital security measure, while critics of the move argue that the program provides essential diversity and that the actions of one individual should not lead to the cancellation of a program used by millions.