Why Shootings Keep happening in the US: Green Card Lottery Suspended After Brown Case
The United States has once again responded to a mass shooting with policy suspension, not systemic reform. President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend the green card diversity lottery scheme after the Brown University shooting reflects a familiar political pattern in America’s response to violence.
Last week’s attack, which killed two people, triggered immediate scrutiny of immigration pathways rather than deeper questions about gun access, social isolation, and institutional failures. The alleged shooter, a Portuguese national, had legally entered the US through the Diversity Visa Lottery in 2017 and later received permanent residency.
While Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem justified the pause as a security measure, the move raises a larger question: why do such violent incidents keep recurring in the United States, regardless of immigration status?
A Culture of Guns, Isolation, and Reactive Politics
Mass shootings in the US do not emerge in isolation. They grow within a social ecosystem shaped by easy gun access, weak mental health systems, and political reluctance to address root causes. The United States remains the only developed nation where civilian gun ownership far exceeds population size, while regulatory reforms remain gridlocked.
Moreover, social alienation has intensified in recent years. Many perpetrators display histories of isolation, untreated mental distress, or unresolved personal grievances. However, instead of investing in mental health screening, community intervention, or gun control, US policy responses often focus on symbolic actions.
Suspending the green card lottery fits this pattern. It projects decisiveness while avoiding politically sensitive debates on firearms. Notably, most mass shootings in the US involve citizens or long-term residents, not recent immigrants. Yet immigration systems repeatedly become convenient political targets.
This approach reflects reactive governance. It prioritizes visible action over structural change. As a result, the underlying conditions that enable violence remain untouched.
Immigration as a Scapegoat, Not a Solution
Linking immigration pathways to violent crime distorts reality. The Diversity Visa Lottery has existed for decades and accounts for a small fraction of US immigration. Studies consistently show that immigrants commit violent crimes at lower rates than native-born Americans.
However, framing violence through an immigration lens serves political narratives. It redirects public anger away from domestic policy failures toward external threats. This strategy resonates during election cycles but does little to improve public safety.
The Brown University shooting follows a long history of similar incidents across campuses, workplaces, and public spaces. Each time, the cycle repeats: shock, outrage, selective policy action, and eventual inertia.
Until the US confronts its gun culture, invests seriously in mental health infrastructure, and shifts from reactive politics to preventive governance, such incidents will continue. Immigration policy pauses may offer political cover, but they cannot address a violence problem rooted deeply within American society.
A seasoned journalist with over 30 years of rich and diverse experience in print and electronic media, Prabha’s professional stints include working with Sahara English Magazine, Pioneer and JAIN TV and All India Radio. She has also been writing in Pioneer. She has also produced several documentary films through her self-owned production house Gajpati Communications. She is also the Station Director of Aligarh-based FM Radio Station, and the General Secretary of WADA NGO.
