Michael Ball-Blakely / Political Theory Workshop

Michael completed his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Washington. His research interests are primarily in immigration justice, socioeconomic status, and climate justice. His current work focuses on how removing barriers to low-income immigration, and working to end discretionary control over borders, can promote justice across various spheres. Michael’s dissertation argues that the current regime of border control facilitates the domination and exploitation of the global labor force by confining them to asymmetrical power relationships with transnational corporations and high-income countries. He has also written on the justice of skill-selective policies and their contribution to class-based status harms and stigmas. In future projects, he will analyze the domestic brain drain as well as how employment-based immigration visa systems contribute to gentrification.