Michelle Chen

Contributing Writer

@meeshellchen

Michelle Chen is a contributing writer for The Nation.

Jail Cell Madison

Rethinking Prison, From the Inside Out Rethinking Prison, From the Inside Out

Changing the institutional culture of incarceration could entail a social consensus that locking people up is never the ideal way to resolve social problems.

Oct 16, 2018 / Michelle Chen

Trump USMCA Announcement

Trump’s NAFTA 2.0 Is Just More of the Same Trump’s NAFTA 2.0 Is Just More of the Same

The USMCA’s weaknesses reflect the fundamentally antidemocratic nature of free-trade agreements.

Oct 15, 2018 / Michelle Chen

airport workers chant during a protest

Airport Workers Can’t Afford Rent or Food as Travel Prices—and Profits—Soar Airport Workers Can’t Afford Rent or Food as Travel Prices—and Profits—Soar

A generation ago, aviation was seen as bulwark of unionized middle-class jobs in the modern global service economy.

Oct 12, 2018 / Michelle Chen

Mateo Barrera, 4, originally from El Salvador, whose family members benefit from Temporary Protected Status, attends a news conference in Los Angeles.

Immigrant Families Living in the US Are Still Fighting for Their Right to Stay Together Immigrant Families Living in the US Are Still Fighting for Their Right to Stay Together

Trump's attack on Temporary Protected Status expands family separation far beyond the southern border.

Oct 10, 2018 / Michelle Chen

Could the Trump Administration Succeed in Detaining Child Migrants Indefinitely?

Could the Trump Administration Succeed in Detaining Child Migrants Indefinitely? Could the Trump Administration Succeed in Detaining Child Migrants Indefinitely?

In seeking to overturn the Flores Agreement, the administration is undoing two decades of precedent.

Oct 5, 2018 / Michelle Chen

Health care worker with a stethoscope

Pharmaceutical Giants Have Avoided Paying About $2.3 Billion in Taxes in the US Alone Pharmaceutical Giants Have Avoided Paying About $2.3 Billion in Taxes in the US Alone

Could that money be used to fund a more humane health-care system?

Oct 2, 2018 / Michelle Chen

This Labor-Trafficking Case Exposes the Twin Cities’ Seedy Subcontracting Underbelly

This Labor-Trafficking Case Exposes the Twin Cities’ Seedy Subcontracting Underbelly This Labor-Trafficking Case Exposes the Twin Cities’ Seedy Subcontracting Underbelly

Workers allege that their employer engaged in labor trafficking, theft of public funds, and insurance fraud.

Sep 28, 2018 / Michelle Chen

One of New York's high-rise housing projects.

Our Housing-Voucher Program Is Broken Our Housing-Voucher Program Is Broken

Landlords regularly refuse to rent to voucher holders, defeating the point of the program. 

Sep 27, 2018 / Michelle Chen

How Would You Feel About a 4-Day Workweek?

How Would You Feel About a 4-Day Workweek? How Would You Feel About a 4-Day Workweek?

As productivity has soared, time off has not kept pace. It’s time to change that.

Sep 25, 2018 / Michelle Chen

Construction workers heat

Too Hot for Work? Too Hot for Work?

Climate change is already worsening working conditions across the country.

Sep 20, 2018 / Michelle Chen

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