By John Q. Hosedrinker 
President Donald Trump has suspended the green card lottery program, following the Brown University and MIT shootings. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the pause, deeming the suspect, Claudio Neves Valente, should not have been allowed in the country through the program. Valente, who obtained a diversity immigrant visa in 2017 after previously being a student, is suspected in the shootings that resulted in multiple deaths and injuries. The diversity visa program, created by Congress, provides up to 50,000 green cards annually by lottery, and this move is anticipated to face legal challenges.
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Trump suspends green card lottery program that let Brown University, MIT shootings suspect into US, and here’s where the story starts to unravel, or at least, becomes more complicated than the headlines suggest. The announcement felt like a knee-jerk reaction, a performative act of bluster that wouldn’t actually address the core issue: gun violence. It’s almost as if the program itself was the cause of the tragic events.
Trump suspends green card lottery program that let Brown University, MIT shootings suspect into US, and the fact that the suspect was admitted via this lottery system years ago, when the president was someone else, is apparently the core reason for the action. The logic seems to be: one person, admitted legally, allegedly commits a crime, therefore, the entire program is to be abolished. The whole premise seems incredibly flawed. It’s like shutting down all welfare programs because a few people abuse them, ignoring the countless individuals who genuinely benefit from them.
Trump suspends green card lottery program that let Brown University, MIT shootings suspect into US, and the reasoning quickly unravels, especially when you consider the larger context. This isn’t really about the individual, the program, or even immigration. It’s a convenient excuse, a distraction, allowing him to avoid the actual elephant in the room: the pervasive problem of gun violence. It’s a way to garner support from those who oppose immigration, regardless of the real issues.
Trump suspends green card lottery program that let Brown University, MIT shootings suspect into US, and this conveniently sidesteps the complexities of the issue. The argument seems to be that if we just get rid of the “bad apples,” we’ll solve the problem. But the real problem isn’t the program, or even the fact that someone who was admitted into the country committed a crime. The real problem is the easy availability of guns and the culture that glorifies violence.
Trump suspends green card lottery program that let Brown University, MIT shootings suspect into US, and this is where it gets particularly interesting because it touches on the political climate. It’s almost a given that the same people who are vocal about controlling immigration are the same ones who are against any form of gun control. It makes you wonder how the program could have possibly impacted this. It feels like a deliberate misdirection to shift blame away from the root causes and onto immigrants. It’s a sad reality when we start treating these human beings as the enemy.
Trump suspends green card lottery program that let Brown University, MIT shootings suspect into US, and it’s also worth noting the irony. The suspect was admitted during the Bush administration and received a green card during Trump’s. But here we are, supposedly because of the lottery program. The motives are questionable, to say the least. It’s simply not a legitimate reason to end a program.
Trump suspends green card lottery program that let Brown University, MIT shootings suspect into US, and there’s a deeper conversation to be had here about how these events are framed, and the kind of narrative that is pushed by the media. The emphasis on the suspect’s background, and his immigration status, serves to amplify xenophobic fears. But it has absolutely nothing to do with solving the problem. It is designed to further divide an already divided society.
Trump suspends green card lottery program that let Brown University, MIT shootings suspect into US, and consider the facts. Do immigrants commit crimes at a higher rate than native-born citizens? No, in fact, studies show it to be lower. As long as there are people, there will be crime.
Trump suspends green card lottery program that let Brown University, MIT shootings suspect into US, and if you consider the other details that were revealed, the fact that there are questions around the investigation itself. Questions about the suspect, and questions about the situation. If you look at the fact that he was from Portugal, and was white, you start to see that it’s more about the show than anything.
Trump suspends green card lottery program that let Brown University, MIT shootings suspect into US, and it’s a convenient strategy to avoid dealing with the real issues. This act will not prevent future shootings or acts of violence, especially since most of the shooters in this country are U.S. citizens.
Trump suspends green card lottery program that let Brown University, MIT shootings suspect into US, and the focus is on the wrong things. The constant misdiagnosis of problems will prevent any real solutions. It’s all about playing the political game at the cost of people’s lives. We should be asking the obvious questions about the actual root cause instead of taking our frustration out on legal immigration programs.