The daughter of a colleague must leave for a six-month study stay in the United States. This colleague is absolutely not concerned, and it’s far from being the only one at my work not to see where the problem is.

Deciding not to study in the US is one thing. What about non-American students who have already started a multi-semester degree there? I know someone in this position and am increasingly frightened for them. Do they bail on the degree? It's not cheap. What if they hang on for another semester or two but then their visa gets cancelled before they graduate? I expect there are thousands of people sweating over these questions and all we can be sure of is that for many they'll be answered in the cruellest way possible.

Yeah, been there. My first time in the states was on an exchange programme during my undergrad. I only stayed for one semester out of the scheduled two because it was such crap. And this was before 9/11. I did end up doing my master’s in DC later but also cut a three-year MFA into a two-year MA because I was so disenchanted. So, yeah, even back then it was very clear to me I was looking at an empire in decline.