During his first week in office, President Donald Trump signed nine executive orders on immigration, fulfilling his promises on mass deportations, border security and birthright citizenship, and marking a significant policy shift from the previous administration. Notably absent from Trump’s agenda is ending the Diversity Visa lottery, though he’s criticized the program in the past.
Many Americans may not be aware that the program—commonly known as the “green card lottery”—offers randomly selected participants a legal immigration pathway and is popular around the world. The Immigration Act of 1990, signed into law by President George H.W. Bush, established the program, so ending it would require Trump to work with Congress.
Trump has every reason to do so, and Americans have good reason to learn about the program, since it has tended to undermine their interests.
Millions of people worldwide each year submit their entries for the green card lottery. In 2023, a staggering number applied—nearly 22.2 million, an increase of nearly eight million from 2022. The State Department, which administers the program, annually grants up to 55,000 immigrant visas that are randomly selected from all entries.
The program’s purpose is to boost ethnic diversity among America’s immigrant population. Preference is given to individuals from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.
Enacted in fiscal year 1995, the Diversity Visa program has directly brought over 1.5 million immigrants to the United States, but indirectly facilitated the arrival of millions more. Since the lottery began, its winners have collectively sponsored around 4 million relatives to join them in the U.S.
The sheer number of immigrants entering the country through the Diversity Visa is not the sole reason to abolish it. The lottery’s selection process chooses individuals regardless of their education, skill, or the economic needs of the United States. Such randomness contradicts meritocratic values that America has prized since its founding and which have made the country great.
Besides lacking a meritocratic foundation, the Diversity Visa lottery is susceptible to criminal activity and fraud. Since the program serves as a gateway to America and U.S. citizenship, the stakes are high. Unsurprisingly, there have been numerous instances of document forgery and false representation.
The U.S. consular corps allocates considerable time and effort to verifying the authenticity of submitted documents. However, many applicants come from countries where it is common practice to bribe government officials to obtain fraudulent documents that appear legitimate.
Numerous criminal enterprises are associated with the lottery. Although the application is free, billboards and shop signs in African and Eastern European capitals advertise false guarantees of selection—for a hefty price.
These practices not only undermine the American immigration system and the rule of law but also allow potentially dangerous individuals to enter the country. In 2004, U.S. government officials warned of national security risks associated with granting visas to green card lottery winners from countries with ties to terrorism, yet these concerns were often dismissed by the mainstream liberal media.
Unfortunately, these worries have proven to be justified. The 2002 Los Angeles International Airport shooting was the first terrorist attack carried out by a participant in the Diversity Visa lottery. More recently, in 2017, green card lottery winners orchestrated two terrorist attacks—a truck attack and a subway bombing—in New York City, resulting in eight deaths and 13 injuries. Following these attacks, President Trump called for the program’s termination.
In addition to posing national security threats, the program also raises legitimate concerns about resource allocation and time management. Rather than focusing their efforts on processing applications for the spouses of U.S. citizens and service members, consular staff spend countless hours verifying the authenticity of documents submitted by green card lottery winners.
These resources, along with American taxpayers’ money, could be better utilized by addressing more pressing issues, rather than processing the random winners of a poorly conceived immigration lottery.
Immigration policy should be driven by the economic, scientific and security needs of the country, prioritizing immigrants whose skills and knowledge could plausibly benefit the nation. The Diversity Visa lottery doesn’t adhere to these priorities, instead granting residence permits to immigrants who lack useful skills and sometimes are much too old to acquire them.
Efforts to end the program have been ongoing since 2005, even as public awareness of the program has been sporadic and limited. With Republicans in control of Congress, President Trump now has an historic opportunity to terminate the Diversity Visa lottery and build a more rational immigration system that would help make America great again.
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