If anyone assumes good faith in this they're a fool. This is nothing but making it more onerous for non-US citizens and to essentially punish them for daring to want something that "WE" have.
I may also disagree that the US universally holds itself up as better than other countries. In many widespread institutions (mainstream media, academia, Hollywood), I'd say the widespread, majority opinion is that the US is notably worse in many regards than many other European countries or Canada (I may in fact agree on some points, though maybe not as broadly). Within that context, I do think it's reasonable to note that according to a poster above, Finland (a country widely lauded in the US for its education system) subjects foreign graduate students to a stressful yearly renewal process for a student visa. Or that Canada, a country often used as a stand-in for a better, more progressive US, has a points system that rewards youth, fluency in one of two Western European languages, and high levels of education.
Should conditions in widely admired countries matter? Sure. This shouldn't be a conversation ender. But yes, it is absolutely relevant to the discussion.
Why would the US be held to a different standard than other Western countries?
To the point that those countries are trying to achieve what the US has.
I mean, why would you want to set your standard as “what the other guys are doing” when your current system is the most successful in the world?
And the US’ success in attracting highly skilled immigrants isn’t only due to the immigration system itself. In fact. In many cases it’s in spite of it.
Ther must be an objective goal beyond being “nice”
One goal is reciprocity - you want your citizens to have the benefit to study abroad therefore you reciprocate to foreign students
Another aspect is getting access to the best talent on the planet, then getting them to stay and advance technology in your country
There needs to be a balance where admitting foreign students does not displace local students.
Maybe cap the number of foreign students or use their tuition money to increase seats for local students?
Is this action targeting students from those countries?
Is anyone claiming that the UK, Australia or NZ are abusing US student visas?