Matthew Blanton

Matthew Blanton is a PhD candidate in Sociology and Demography at the University of Texas at Austin. He holds an MA in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary. His research interests broadly encompass migration, politics, and religion in Latin America, with a particular focus on the causes and consequences of forced displacement. His dissertation, Forced Migration From and Within Central America, uses mixed methods to examine migrant health and well-being in the post-migration context, the enduring influence of historical violence on migration patterns, and the timing and drivers of unaccompanied minor migration.

Matthew’s peer-reviewed work has been published in International Migration Review, The Sociological Quarterly, BMC Public Health, among others, and his public scholarship has appeared in outlets such as The Boston Globe and The Hill. Before graduate school, he worked on a national immigration reform campaign with the National Immigration Forum and co-led a community development nonprofit in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. He lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and two young children.