On Thursday, December 18, 2025, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced an immediate pause to the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV Program), commonly known as the green card lottery, citing the immigration status of the suspect in a deadly mass shooting at Brown University and the subsequent murder of an MIT professor. The suspect, identified as 48-year-old Portuguese national Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente, had obtained lawful permanent resident status through the program in 2017 after initially entering the U.S. on a student visa in 2000.
In a post on X, Noem stated: “The Brown University shooter, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente entered the United States through the diversity lottery immigrant visa program (DV1) in 2017 and was granted a green card. This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country.” She added that, at President Donald Trump's direction, she was directing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to pause the program “to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program.”
The Diversity Visa Program, established by Congress in 1990, annually makes up to 55,000 immigrant visas available to individuals from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. Applicants are selected through a random lottery, with winners undergoing background checks, interviews, and other vetting processes similar to those for other immigrant visas. In recent years, tens of millions have applied annually, though only a fraction are selected.
The announcement came hours after authorities confirmed that Neves-Valente, a former Brown University graduate student, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a storage unit in Salem, New Hampshire. Officials linked him to both the December 13 mass shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, which killed two students and injured nine others, and the December 15 murder of MIT Professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro in his Brookline, Massachusetts home.
The Brown shooting occurred around 4 p.m. on Saturday, December 13, in the Barus and Holley Building, home to the university's engineering and physics departments, during a review session for a Principles of Economics class amid final exams week. The victims killed were identified as 19-year-old Ella Cook, a talented pianist and vice president of the university's Republican Club, and 18-year-old Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, an aspiring neurosurgeon described by family as kind and intelligent.
Neves-Valente, who had enrolled in Brown's physics Ph.D. program in fall 2000 but withdrew after less than a year (formally in 2003), was believed to have spent significant time in the targeted building during his brief tenure. Authorities said he rented a car in Boston, cased the area, and used sophisticated methods to evade detection initially, including switching license plates and avoiding traceable payments.
Two days later, on December 15, Neves-Valente allegedly shot and killed Loureiro, a 47-year-old renowned plasma physicist and director of MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center. The two had attended the same academic program at Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal, from 1995 to 2000. U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah Foley stated that Neves-Valente specifically targeted Loureiro.
A five-day manhunt involving local, state, and federal agencies ended when Neves-Valente was located in the New Hampshire storage unit alongside firearms and evidence tying him to both crimes. Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha confirmed his death by suicide, stating there was no evidence of accomplices or further threats.
President Trump, who has long criticized the diversity visa program as a security risk and not merit-based, acted swiftly through Noem's directive. During his first term, Trump sought to end the program but faced congressional resistance. The current pause affects processing by USCIS, though most diversity visas are handled by the State Department. Legal experts anticipate challenges, as the program is congressionally mandated, and any permanent termination would require legislation.
Critics of the move argue it exploits tragedy to advance anti-immigration policies, noting that immigrants, including those via the lottery, commit crimes at lower rates than native-born Americans. Supporters praise it as a necessary step to prioritize national security.
The pause comes amid broader Trump administration actions on immigration since January 2025, including crackdowns on irregular migration and restrictions on entries from certain countries. Earlier in the week, Trump signed a proclamation limiting entries from five additional nations: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria.
Communities at Brown and MIT continue to mourn. Brown canceled remaining classes and exams for the fall semester, while MIT held vigils for Loureiro, described as an inspiring mentor and leader in fusion energy research.
This incident marks one of over 390 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2025, highlighting ongoing debates over gun violence, mental health, and immigration.
