On December 18, 2025, President Donald Trump made a decisive move by suspending the green card lottery program, a decision that has sparked intense discussion. This program had enabled the suspect in the recent shootings at Brown University and MIT to enter the United States.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, responding swiftly, announced the suspension via a statement on the social platform X. She emphasized that the order came directly from President Trump, reflecting the administration’s immediate action in response to the tragic events.

“This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” Noem stated, expressing the administration’s stance on tightening immigration policies in the wake of the incident.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a post on the social platform X that at Trump’s direction she is ordering the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to pause the program.

“This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” she said.

The diversity visa program makes up to 50,000 green cards available each year by lottery to people from countries that are little represented in the United States, many of them in Africa.

Nearly 20 million people applied for the 2025 visa lottery, with more than 131,000 selected when including spouses with the winners. After winning, they must undergo vetting to win admission to the United States. Portuguese citizens won only 38 slots.