Walling ourselves out

“Is The United States Still The United States?”

I came across these two items on the same day, both about New York State: Quiet Upstate Road Becomes a Busy Exit From U.S. and State troopers: Hate-crime incidents are skyrocketing.

Also, I’ve been reading a lot of stories of frustration concerning travel. Canadian citizen going to day spa in US turned away – needs immigrant visa; what, that can’t be right. Due to visa issues, a well-regarded band from Ireland were unable to play their concert recently near here. Even British visitors to the White House have been having difficulty. Khizr Khan said he’s been told his travel privileges are under review; he is the father of a fallen American soldier and huge critic of the regime.

It will only get worse. As a Holocaust scholar threatened with deportation asked, “Is The United States Still The United States?”

With Muslim bans, shunning refugees, purported border walls, cemetery vandalism , bomb threats, and shootings of the other, I worry that the message the world is receiving is You Are Not Welcome here. And THAT is a bad thing, for the United States.

From here:
“Foreign students disproportionately study STEM and business fields. Two-thirds of foreign students pursuing a bachelor’s or higher degree are in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) or business, management and marketing fields, versus 48 percent of students in the United States…

“Forty-five (45) percent of foreign student graduates extend their visas to work in the same metropolitan area as their college or university.”

Much of the intellectual capital America needs, and has required for a good long while, has come from abroad. For instance, we’re facing a shortage of primary care physicians – and it’ll only get worse. The USCIS Will Temporarily Suspend Premium Processing for All H-1B Visa Petitions, which will hamper American industry.

If you were a scientist from India, and you saw not only bigotry but a blatant disregard for the value of information, and you think maybe that grant that would support your work might be dashed, part of the $54 billion that is supposed to be cut to support more military spending, would YOU uproot your life?

I’ve been told, more than once, that Americans will fill those roles, but there’s no evidence, at least in the short term, that it’s even remotely possible.

Plus there may be a slump in international tourism due to regime policies.

Ha, Mandy Patinkin Thinks He Can Change His Mind on Refugees, but the xenophobia, which hurts the United States, economically as well as other ways, may run too deep.

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