India, May 29 -- The Trump administration's directive to US embassies to pause new student-visa interviews until steps are in place to screen political leanings of applicants is in keeping with Washington's ongoing actions against perceived anti-Semitism in US campuses. Such profiling has far-reaching implications for US academia, research, business, and the political economy at large. It will have an immediate impact on students who may have been preparing to study in the US: Indians constitute the largest international group in universities there. The larger message here is that America has changed and will henceforth be less tolerant of dissent. It will actively seek to censure (and censor) views that are not aligned with the administration's worldview. This may not necessarily be restricted to students' perceptions of Israel and its military action in Gaza, but also extend to their views regarding civic rights, sexuality, even world history. The administration's stance against a storied institution such as Harvard University indicates that it will go to any extent to enforce its writ on academia. There is pushback from the judiciary - a federal judge has stalled the department of homeland security's cancellation of Harvard's licence to enrol foreign students - but the administration has refused to back down. Its intent is clear: Campuses must stay clear of radical politics, and education should restrict itself to academic work. Profiling at the stage of visa interviews will enable the establishment to filter students early and restrict entry to those holding views that are an anathema to the administration. This pivot can have political and economic costs. First, foreign students contribute significantly to the US economy - research by NAFSA: Association of International Educators reported that this cohort added $43.8 billion to the US economy in 2023-2024 and supported 378,175 jobs across the country. This is a large talent pool that has historically contributed to building the US's economic and technological prowess. Second, liberal US campuses are flagbearers of American soft power, which has historically given the West its edge over authoritarian ideologies. From the time of the Cold War to the rise of China, US campuses with their willingness to recognise free speech and the right to association have influenced young people across the world - from the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe to Iran and China - to privilege liberal democracy over authoritarian welfare systems. The American dream has not just been about making money but is also about freedoms. Enterprise and innovation thrive when personal freedoms, including the right to speech and political choice, are protected. Universities with diverse political views and ideas contribute to this ecosystem. The visa action threatens to undermine this. A hostile bureaucracy will drive students, including from India, to explore campuses elsewhere: More Indian students are now looking to Europe, evident from the substantial rise in enrolments in universities in Germany and France....