In this lecture, Silky Shah frames US immigration policy and its relationship to mass incarceration. Incorporating historical and legal analyses of the last forty years, she shows how the prison-industrial complex and immigration enforcement are intertwined systems of repression. While U.S. society remains entrenched in a circular discourse about migrant justice, Shah shares her personal experience as an organizer, as well as stories of people, campaigns, organizations, and localities fighting detention and deportation, showing how the movement for prison-abolition is crucial to the future of migrant justice in North America.

A reception will follow the lecture, providing an opportunity for attendees to connect and continue the discussion.

About the Speaker
Silky Shah is the executive director of Detention Watch Network, a national coalition building power to abolish immigration detention in the U.S. She is also the author of the recently published book, Unbuild Walls: Why Immigrant Justice Needs Abolition (Haymarket, 2024). Originally from Texas, she began fighting the expansion of immigrant jails on the U.S.-Mexico border in the aftermath of 9/11 and has worked as an organizer on issues related to immigration detention, the prison industrial complex, and racial and migrant justice for over twenty years.