CONSIDER THE SOURCE.

When you build a shining city on a hill, you should not be surprised that people climb the hill.  ""Frankly, I think…kicking every Russian student out of the United States," said Rep. Eric Swalwell (D–Calif.) on CNN last week, should 'be on the table.'" No.

This is a misguided proposal that will drive a wedge between the U.S. and people who would be well-served by American values. Rather than expelling Russian nationals who are uninvolved in the sins of their government, we should be welcoming them with open arms and encouraging them to engage with our values.

That is, if higher education institutions engaged with American values, rather than treating them as something to scoff at.  The political economy of graduate education, though, includes motivated people who might be yearning to breathe free.  A few years ago, it was the aspiring students from Islamic parts of the world who were in a bad odor, and I objected to that as well.  Higher education, for all its failings, is still an export industry for us, and the international flavor of graduate education gives the lie to the canard that faculty are underworked and overpaid.

Does it help Vladimir Putin if the most ambitious of his subjects seek university degrees in the United States or Canada, even if their primary objective is to get into North America?