Yeah definitely true, but this stuff is more relevant for people who actively try to be a thorn in the government’s side, like lefties or dedicated pro-Palestine activists. The average prospective international student isn’t that so they can easily get by (of course this doesn’t apply to the current admin), while on the other hand I simply wouldn’t feel safe in a place where mildly politically charged comments about food prices or the job market can get me rounded up and interrogated, or where I don’t know which of my classmates or colleagues is a government informant. More than political freedom the personal safety guaranteed by that political freedom (even if, as you said, it’s just keeping up appearances) is what’s at stake here.