Speaking from the White House Wednesday morning, President Trump vowed to end the Diversity Lottery Program, which is run through the State Department.
"I am today starting the process of terminating the Diversity Lottery Program. I’m going to ask Congress to immediately initiate or get rid of this program," Trump said. "'Diversity lottery.' Sounds nice. It's not nice. It's not good. It hasn't been good."
"We will take all necessary steps to protect our people," he continued. "We're going to get rid of this lottery program as soon as possible."
The announcement comes after it was revealed the ISIS terrorist who mowed down pedestrians and bikers in New York City Tuesday afternoon, killing eight, came to the United States in 2010 through the program from Uzbekistan. Federal authorities interviewed him in 2015 on suspicions of terrorism.
"We're so politically correct that we're afraid to do anything, and that's not only our country - it's other countries too," he said. "We have to get much tougher. We have to get much smarter. And we have to get much less politically correct."
“Terrorists are constantly seeking to strike our nation and it will require the unflinching devotion to our law enforcement, homeland security and intelligence professionals to keep America safe,” Trump continued.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions will travel to New York City Thursday to give remarks about national security. Presumably Sessions will lay out plans on how to phase out the DLP and to increase vetting of foreign nationals, which President Trump called for yesterday.
I have just ordered Homeland Security to step up our already Extreme Vetting Program. Being politically correct is fine, but not for this!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 1, 2017
This post has been updated with additional quotes.