Silky Shah

🎧 The wait is over! Unbuild Walls: Why Immigrant Justice Needs Abolition is now an audiobook! Unbuild Walls, from Silky Shah, executive director of Detention Watch Network, dives into US immigration policy and its relationship to mass incarceration, from the last 40 years up to the present, showing how the prison-industrial complex and immigration enforcement are intertwined systems of repression. Unbuild Walls is a timely intervention as anti-immigrant sentiment fueled by fear-mongering, a scarcity mindset, and racist rhetoric has reached a dangerous fever pitch in today’s political discourse. 🔗Order your audiobook today: libro.fm or bit.ly/unbuildwallsAUDIO

🎉Available NOW! A new book, Unbuild Walls: Why Immigrant Justice Needs Abolition, by Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network, @silkys13 dives into US immigration policy and its relationship to mass incarceration, from the last 40 years to the present, showing how the prison-industrial complex and immigration enforcement are intertwined systems of repression. Shah’s book is a timely intervention as anti-immigrant sentiment fueled by fear-mongering, a scarcity mindset, and racist rhetoric has reached a dangerous fever pitch in today’s political discourse. “Abolition is not only a vision, but a guide and theory of change that helps us get closer to racial and migrant justice,” says Shah. “ The dehumanization of communities of color and immigrants not only results in more detention, incarceration, and deportation, it prevents us from addressing the real issues facing communities across the US, especially social and economic inequality.” Buy Unbuild Walls on @haymarketbooks and Join Silky on her 2024 Unbuild Walls Book Tour at the link in our bio or visit detentionwatchnetwork.org/unbuild-walls 🎨 Illustrations by: @mixedchange

We are so honored to introduce our Rainbow Grad speaker, Silky Shah! Community members who are not graduating are welcome to attend to see Silky speak! [image description] magenta flyer with light purple and orange vague shapes striped on the upper left and bottom right corner. The LGBTQ+ resource center logo on the upper right corner. In there middle is a box with text iTruthoutddle. It reads ‘Rainbow Grad Keynote Speaker’, ‘Silky Shah, ‘Silky Shah is the executive director of Detention Watch Network a national coalition building power to end immigrant detention in the United States, and the author of Unbuild Walls: Why Immigrant Justice Needs Abolition (Haymarket Books, 2024). Originally from Texas, she began fighting the expansion of immigrant jails on the US-Mexico border in the aftermath of 9/11 and has been working as an organizer on issues related to racial and migrant justice for over two decades. Her writing on immigration policy and organizing has been published in Teen Vogue, The Nation, Truthout, Inquest, and The Forge and she has appeared in numerous national and local media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, and MSNBC.’ ‘may 12 5-7pm, stevie elle’s dance theater’. [image description ends]

There are hundreds of peaceful protests, rallies, and vigils planned on Saturday to demand an end to ICE warehouses.

Tertulia Migrante latest cohort has just finishing reading and analyzing “Unbuild Walls” and will be joined by the author, Silky Shah @silkys13 , on Monday, April 27. Register to join: bit.ly/tertuliawithsilkyshah Link in bio 🔗 Moderated by Leigh Campoamor @li_mi_ca WHEN: Monday, April 27 TIME: 4:30PM to 5:30PM PT (Los Angeles) 6:30PM to 7:30 PM CT (Chicago) 7:30PM to 8:30PM ET (New York City) A zoom link will be emailed to you after registration. Silky Shah has been working as an organizer on issues related to racial and migrant justice for over two decades. Originally from Texas, she began fighting the expansion of immigrant jails on the US-Mexico border in the aftermath of 9/11. In 2009, she joined the staff of Detention Watch Network, a national coalition building power to abolish immigrant detention in the United States, and now serves as its executive director. #WeTellOurOwnStories #UnbuildWalls #AbolishICE

What a gift to spend a few days at the legendary @bluemountaincenter with some of the smartest people I know. There was lots of processing and strategizing for these times but we also ate tons of nourishing food and laughed a great deal and stared out at the stars at night. Despite the long journey after being on the road nonstop these days, I left feeling restored and with more clarity ✨✨

The Education and Border Abolition Conference is pleased to present our closing keynote for the first annual conference, Silky Shah (@silkys13 ). Silky Shah is the executive director of Detention Watch Network (@DetentionWatch ), a national coalition building power to end immigrant detention in the United States, and the author of Unbuild Walls: Why Immigrant Justice Needs Abolition (@HaymarketBooks , 2024). Originally from Texas, she began fighting the expansion of immigrant jails on the US-Mexico border in the aftermath of 9/11 and has been working as an organizer on issues related to racial and migrant justice for over two decades. Her writing on immigration policy and organizing has been published in Teen Vogue, The Nation, Truthout, Inquest, and The Forge and she has appeared in numerous national and local media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, and MSNBC. Join us at 6 PM EST for the closing keynote at the free, virtual Education and Border Abolition Conference on April 24, 2026. Register here (link in bio): https://bit.ly/ebac26register - - #EBAC #EBAC26 #Education #BorderAbolition #VirtualConference

Abolish ICE, Abolish the Border! Join Harsha Walia, Silky Shah, and Beatrice Adler-Bolton of Death Panel for an urgent discussion on the brutal enforcement of immigration policing in Minneapolis and beyond, and why resistance calls for abolishing not just ICE but the entire border regime. Thursday February 12th, at 7pm ET Register through the link in our bio And remember to check out our free ebooks on migrant justice and border abolition for further reading 📚

Abolish ICE. Abolish the border. Abolish the police. A better world is possible if we fight for it. Reading list linked in bio.

NEW analysis in @truthout from DWN’s executive director, Silky Shah, @silkys13 , on the mass deportation agenda during 2025. Amid all the spectacle, the passage of the funding bill allocating $170 billion to immigration enforcement was an ominous milestone in the history of U.S. immigration policy and the Trump administration’s aspiring facism. “A year into Trump’s second term, the White House’s blanket defense of the brutal murder of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis has rattled the nation. Conditions inside detention have deteriorated so much that at least six people have died while in ICE custody since January 3, 2026. (In comparison in 2024 a total of 11 people died in detention). Calls to abolish ICE are once again gaining steam. The years ahead will no doubt continue to be violent (and deadly) for immigrants and those who support them. But this moment presents an opening to build toward dismantling the enforcement apparatus. Reflecting on 2025 through an abolitionist lens is critical as we develop strategies to combat the ongoing mass deportation agenda”, says Silky. Read the full op-ed at the link in our bio or at truthout.org

Tertulia Migrante is back! ✨📚🤓✨ Join us for 4 virtual sessions to analyze together Silky Shah's (@silkys13 ) powerful book "Unbuild Walls: Why Immigrant Justice Needs Abolition." 📅 Discussion Schedule: 3/2: Intro & Ch 1 (pp. 1-43) 3/16: Ch 2 & 3 (pp. 44-93) 3/30: Ch 4 & 5 (pp. 97-147) 4/13: Ch 6, 7 & 8 (pp. 148-210) 4/27: Discussion with author Silky Shah @silkys13 🕐 Time: 4PM-5:30PM PT (Los Angeles) 6PM-7:30PM CT (Chicago) 7PM-8:30PM ET (New York City) Facilitated by Leigh Campoamor @li_mi_ca #TertuliaMigrante #EscuelaPolíticaMigrante #UnbuildWalls Register here: bit.ly/tertuliaunbuildwalls

It’s been a week since I returned from South Africa for a gathering about Abolition Internationalism organized by Ruth Wilson Gilmore, @pascoal_de_melo and other comrades. It’s impossible to capture the joy of being with abolitionists from across the globe, learning about their work, and strategizing for these times but I’m sharing some photos here anyway. The first pic is the view outside Cissie Gool House, a former hospital that has been occupied by housing activists since 2017 and where we met for several days. Over six days the gathering took us to the University of Cape Town, where we learned about the Fees Must Fall campaign, and to Salt River, to see the murals and learn about the history of the traditionally non-white neighborhood in a central part of the city. The photos are not all mine, but a hodgepodge of pics I took and some others shared.