Morocco experts warn US visa lottery suspension deepens inequality

The suspension of the US green card lottery program has triggered concern among prospective migrants and migration specialists, who warn the move could narrow legal migration pathways and reshape access to opportunity, particularly for young Moroccans.

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced last week that the diversity visa lottery had been suspended after it was linked to a suspect in a mass shooting at Brown University. The decision follows a broader shift under President Donald Trump’s administration toward tighter immigration controls.

Abdelhamid Jmour, a migration expert, said the suspension does not immediately deprive the United States of talent but signals a structural contraction in how human capital is generated over time. He said the lottery has historically provided access to migrants from countries underrepresented in US migration flows and contributed to long term innovation and entrepreneurship through gradual social mobility.

Jmour said the decision reflects a move toward narrower, selection based migration centered on immediate skills, capital and family ties, rather than broader access. For Morocco, he said, the impact would be significant, as the lottery represented one of the least selective legal migration channels for young people without financial resources or established networks.

Abdelrafiaa Talidi, a professor of migration sociology at the University of Lleida, said US authorities view the lottery as a random system that does not guarantee migrant quality, favoring instead applicants with degrees or job offers. He said this approach overlooks the role of migrants who entered with limited means and later became professionals and entrepreneurs.

Talidi said ending the program risks reinforcing inequality by limiting migration to those already privileged and could push excluded youth to pursue costlier or riskier alternatives.