United States President Donald Trump has said that he will begin the process to end what is popularly referred to as the Green Card Lottery.
Trump, reacting to the attack in Manhattan which left 8 people dead, wrote on his Twitter that the terrorist arrived into the US through the lottery. He wrote:
The terrorist came into our country through what is called the “Diversity Visa Lottery Program,” a Chuck Schumer beauty. I want merit based.
The terrorist came into our country through what is called the “Diversity Visa Lottery Program,” a Chuck Schumer beauty. I want merit based.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 1, 2017
Speaking at a conference thereafter, Trump said he would terminate the lottery. He said:
I am today starting the process of terminating the diversity lottery program.
I’m going to ask Congress to immediately initiate work to get rid of this program, diversory [sic] and diversity lottery. Diversity lottery. Sounds nice, it’s not good. Not good. It hasn’t been good, and we’ve been against it.
“We’re going to quickly as possible get rid of chain migration and move to a merit-based system,” he added.
The Green Card Lottery, officially known as the Diversity Visa Lottery Program, went into effect in 1995. Around 50,000 people from countries underrepresented in the US immigration are awarded visas under the program every year.