The Diversity Visa Lottery persists as one of the most baffling relics of misguided immigration policy, a program that hands out green cards by random draw rather than any coherent measure of merit, assimilation potential, or benefit to the United States.
Recent events have once again exposed its dangers, prompting the Trump administration to pause issuances following a horrific shooting at Brown University last year carried out by a beneficiary of this very system.
This is not mere coincidence or an isolated failure. It is the predictable outcome of a lottery system born from political horse-trading rather than national interest. For too long, America has treated immigration as a vehicle for abstract social engineering instead of a tool for strengthening the republic.
Established in the Immigration Act of 1990 under the influence of Senator Ted Kennedy, the Diversity Visa program initially aimed to boost Irish immigration after the 1965 overhaul shifted flows away from Europe. What began as a narrow fix for one ethnic group evolved into a global lottery delivering up to 55,000 visas annually to nationals from countries with low historical immigration rates.
Natives of high-sending nations like Mexico, India, and China remain ineligible, underscoring the program’s arbitrary nature.
A History of Exploitation and Tragedy
The program’s track record reveals a pattern of vulnerability. In 2017, Sayfullo Saipov, an Uzbek national who entered via the diversity lottery, carried out a deadly truck attack along a New York City bike path, murdering eight people in an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism. President Trump at the time rightly called for its termination.
Similar red flags emerged earlier. Hesham Mohamed Hedayet, who opened fire at the El Al counter in Los Angeles International Airport on July 4, 2002, gained legal status through a family member who won the lottery. These cases illustrate how a system designed for “diversity” bypasses rigorous vetting in favor of chance.
The latest incident involving Cláudio Manuel Neves Valente, a Portuguese national admitted through the DV program in 2017, has reignited scrutiny. Kristi Noem highlighted how this individual, who should never have been granted entry, allegedly committed atrocities that shocked the nation. Such failures demand more than temporary pauses—they require permanent reform.
The False Promise of Diversity as Strength
Proponents insist that diversity enriches America, yet the lottery ignores the foundational requirement of cultural compatibility and self-sufficiency. It floods the country with entrants selected not for skills, education, or alignment with American values, but for their origin in underrepresented nations. This random selection has little to do with building a cohesive society and everything to do with outdated political compromises.
Fraud has plagued the program from its inception. Lax eligibility rules, combined with challenges in verifying identities from certain regions, create openings for exploitation by those with ill intent. National security experts have long warned of risks from countries tied to terrorism or human trafficking, many of which remain eligible for the lottery.
Meanwhile, America First priorities call for a merit-based system that prioritizes high-skilled workers, assimilation, and contributions to the economy. Bills like the Americans First Immigration Act and the SAFE for America Act seek to eliminate the lottery entirely, shifting toward points-based selection that serves citizens first.
Congress Must Act to End This Experiment
The Trump administration’s pause on diversity visa issuances marks a necessary step, allowing time to review screening protocols and address vulnerabilities. Yet executive action alone cannot suffice for a congressionally mandated program. Lawmakers must repeal it as part of broader immigration overhaul, ending chain migration extensions and refocusing policy on quality over quantity.
Proposals such as the Assimilation Act align closely with these goals, imposing cultural and self-sufficiency standards that previous waves of immigrants once met naturally. Thirty-plus years of this lottery have yielded enough evidence of its shortcomings. It is past time to retire it.
In the realm of governance, wisdom demands discernment between compassion and recklessness. As the prophet Isaiah declared, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness” (Isaiah 5:20).
Immigration policy must illuminate truth by placing the security and prosperity of American families above globalist abstractions.
The path forward is clear. Prioritize merit, enforce assimilation, and secure the nation’s future by discarding mechanisms that treat citizenship as a game of chance. Americans deserve immigration that strengthens rather than endangers their communities.
It’s time for Congress to repeal it so no future president can reinstate this abomination.
