{"product_id":"unbuild-walls-why-immigrant-justice-needs-abolition","title":"Unbuild Walls: Why Immigrant Justice Needs Abolition","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"product right-sidbar\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"addto-cardbox\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"pricebox\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Those who build walls are their own prisoners. I am going to go fulfill my proper function in the social organism. I’m going to go unbuild walls.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—Ursula K. Le Guin,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Dispossessed\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDrawing from over twenty years of activism on local and national levels, this striking book offers an organizer’s perspective on the intersections of immigrant rights, racial justice, and prison abolition.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn the wake of post-9\/11 xenophobia, Obama’s record-level deportations, Trump’s immigration policies, and the 2020 uprisings for racial justice, the US remains entrenched in a circular discourse regarding migrant justice. As organizer Silky Shah argues in \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eUnbuild Walls\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, we must move beyond building nicer cages or advocating for comprehensive immigration reform. Our only hope for creating a liberated society for all, she insists, is abolition.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUnbuild Walls\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e dives into US immigration policy and its relationship to mass incarceration, from the last forty years up to the present, showing how the prison-industrial complex and immigration enforcement are intertwined systems of repression. Incorporating historical and legal analyses, Shah’s personal experience as an organizer, as well as stories of people, campaigns, organizations, and localities that have resisted detention and deportation, Shah assesses the movement’s strategies, challenges, successes, and shortcomings. Featuring a foreword by Amna A. Akbar, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eUnbuild Walls\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is an expansive and radical intervention, bridging the gaps between movements for immigrant rights, racial justice, and prison abolition.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSilky Shah\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e 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. Her writing on immigration policy and organizing has been published in \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eTruthout\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eTeen Vogue\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e Inquest\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Forge\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and in the edited volumes, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Jail is Everywhere\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e (Verso, 2024), \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eResisting Borders and Technologies of Violence\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e (Haymarket Books, 2024), and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eTransformative Planning\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e (Black Rose Books, 2020). She has also appeared in numerous national and local media outlets including \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, NPR, and MSNBC.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"section-title\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReviews\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"section-title\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"section-title\"\u003e“\u003cem\u003eUnbuild Walls\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis a vital intervention! The freedom to move around and the freedom to stay put are central to abolitionist vision. Silky Shah shows, with lively detail, how abolitionist political analysis is both preparation for and guidance through complex, difficult struggles.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—Ruth Wilson Gilmore, author of \u003cem\u003eAbolition Geography: Essays Towards Liberation\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e“\u003cem\u003eUnbuild Walls\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis much more than a theoretical guidebook. It is a tool and sophisticated primer for activists, organizers, students, and intellectuals who hope to change the world.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e—Amna A. Akbar, Public Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e“Silky Shah has written a crucial history of the nexus between draconian immigration enforcement and the criminal legal system. Rather than framing the cruelties of the Trump administration as the result of a single man’s nativist designs, Shah exposes the decades-long bipartisan project to quickly incarcerate and deport immigrants. Shah avoids the all-too easy claim that these two systems should be disentangled, arguing that this narrative pits immigrants against other marginalized groups—including people affected by the prison-industrial complex—and instead deftly argues for abolition.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—Gaby Del Valle, cofounder of BORDER\/LINES\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e“This book is an essential tool to build abolitionist analysis within the migrant justice movement, and to bring people who are already mobilizing for police and prison abolition into the fight for migrant justice. Anyone interested in social change and in the most pressing questions about social movement tactics needs to read this book.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—Dean Spade, author of \u003cem\u003eMutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e“Silky Shah’s excellently crafted book,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eUnbuild Walls\u003c\/em\u003e, refreshingly busts through the persistent and predictable debates about border and immigration enforcement. This fast-paced read is well-written, well-researched, often personal and insightful, and is a must for anyone concerned about immigration and connections to struggles for economic and racial justice.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—Todd Miller, author of \u003cem\u003eBuild Bridges, Not Walls: A Journey to a World Without Borders\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e“This book is an extraordinary call to action that urges anyone who cares about immigrant justice to embrace abolition. Silky Shah writes from her unique perspective as an organizer and leader in the movement to end immigration detention, sharing the abolitionist lessons she has learned from her journey.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eUnbuild Walls \u003c\/em\u003eis a gift to those who are ready to learn from the past and build a better future that uplifts the dignity of all people.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—Alina Das, author of \u003cem\u003eNo Justice in the Shadows: How America Criminalizes Immigrants\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e“\u003cem\u003eUnbuild Walls\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eopens our eyes to the ways the criminal punishment and immigration enforcement systems are fully intertwined. Grounded in stories of immigrants impacted by immigrant detention, as well as her own courageous organizing journey fighting against the deportation machine, Silky Shah inspires us to embrace the call for the abolition of mass incarceration and immigrant detention. This book is a must-read for anyone committed to building a democracy where freedom and justice is a reality for all.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—Cristina Jiménez Moreta, MacArthur Fellow and cofounder of United We Dream\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e“Shah is a wise analyst, and her pairing of immigration detention and the growth of prisons is insightful, convincing, and well-presented. Unbuild Walls is also an important organizing tool, a fierce reminder of the centrality of migrant justice in promoting peace and civil and human rights.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—\u003cem\u003eThe Progressive\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"section-title\"\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"body\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“[An] illuminating and eloquent book.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—\u003cem\u003eALA Booklist\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Part handbook, part movement memoir, Unbuild Walls tells the story of 20-plus years trying to stop the incarceration of immigrants...[showing that] the two issues are truly inseparable — both historically and from a strategic perspective.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—\u003cem\u003eLux\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Written from the perspective of a longtime activist, Unbuild Walls is grounded in the practical realities of organizing.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—\u003cem\u003eBolts\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Shah’s intersectional approach to the immigrant justice struggle will interest those interested in immigration reform as well as individuals working on behalf of any marginalized community disproportionately affected by the current carceral system. Informative reading for activists and policymakers.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—\u003cem\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Haymarket Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47843051765914,"sku":"UnbuildWalls-NewBook","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0726\/6988\/8666\/files\/Screenshot2026-04-24104114.png?v=1777056255","url":"https:\/\/www.redcurrentshop.com\/products\/unbuild-walls-why-immigrant-justice-needs-abolition","provider":"Red Current Distro - Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}