Should probably avoid the US entirely.

I had a thought: in previous decades it was advantageous for the US to invite academics from China because we could impress them with our highly developed standards of living. We could work them over with intelligence and maybe even turn them as US assets and informants. As life in China gets better and life in the US gets worse, though, this has become a hindrance as those same academics now see the squalor of US cities and decline of US prestige. Now we need to keep them out or the whole charade of US supremacy will collapse. Now they can only be allowed to view the US from movies and television.

I'm a PSL and DSA member with an arrest record for staging protests [removed]. About to fly home international tomorrow after being in Asia (China included). Unlikely as a white citizen to have any problems. But, still, not a fun thing to hear my home in Seattle has gotten worse.

Edit: [removed] details that might just be a self dox.

In past administrations, I would have defaulted to the position that there may be valid reasons to deny entry to a group of scholars from China, given China's history with spies in the USA. Now, however, I can't trust this administration at all, so I'm likely to side with the scholars until evidence is given for me to do the contrary.