California
Rep Keith Self bill to end green card lottery introduced in House
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Key points
- Representative Keith Self introduced H.R. 10896 to completely eliminate the federal diversity visa lottery program.
- The proposed legislation would stop the annual distribution of up to 55,000 green cards to underrepresented nations.
- The bill responds to a federal court order directing the Department of State to resume lottery registrations.
What is the Keith Self Texas immigration bill?
NewsWK — Representative Keith Self introduced new legislation on October 22, 2026, to shut down the federal immigration lottery. The Texas Republican filed the measure in the 119th Congress without cosponsors. House leaders quickly referred the measure to the House Committee on the Judiciary for consideration. However, the legislation remains in the initial introduced stage before any committee votes.
How does the HR 10896 diversity visa alter current law?
Currently, the State Department grants up to 55,000 permanent resident visas annually through the green card program. These visas go to individuals from countries with low historical immigration rates to the United States. The proposed legislation seeks to end diversity immigrant visa program awards entirely.
Key provisions of the draft legislation include:
- Fully repealing the federal visa lottery program
- Stopping future allocations of the 55,000 annual visas
Therefore, federal agencies would no longer accept lottery applications under the proposed change.
Why did lawmakers introduce a bill to terminate diversity visa program?
The legislative action followed a Major Federal Court ruling in California on October 14, 2026. U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta ordered Secretary Marco Rubio to reopen lottery registrations in Red Eagle Law, L.C. v. Rubio. Previously, executive officials suspended the program in December 2025 after a tragic criminal investigation.
Specifically, police identified a Portuguese lottery recipient as a suspect in four fatal shootings across Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Congressman Self strongly criticized judicial intervention in executive border security decisions.
“We cannot allow activist judges to dictate our immigration policy,” Self stated in his public release.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by our editorial team.
Sources
Related: Trump Public Charge Rule Lawsuit Challenges Return of Tougher Green Card Standards
Related: Court Ruling Supports Trump Administration’s Immigration Detention Policy in Southern States
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