They all know that US universities are expensive, and if their families have the money (or access to it), they apply, and otherwise, they don't. That is by no means an ironclad rule, but it is more the rule than the exception. So, then comes the question of where affluent families want to send their sons and daughters (and where they want to go). Today's headlines are full of foreign citizens getting harassed and physically assaulted by so-called "law enforcement" in the USA, and the goal of a US university education has diminished significantly among world academia as something to strive for. A drop in foreign applications will automatically mean a drop in cash coming in for all but the ten top universities in the USA. If you're a super-wealthy family in France or Dubai, and your kid is accepted at Yale, chances are, they'll still go. The University of North Texas, on the other hand is probably not the ONLY school a prospective foreign college applicant has applied to. If a foreign student and/or their family feels there is a greater chance of returning home alive and un-arrested if they choose to go to school outside the USA, I can certainly understand the reasoning behind the decision.
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