Death Panel Abolish ICE, Abolish the Border w/ Silky Shah & Harsha Walia (Live) (02/12/26)
Feb 13, 2026
Harsha Walia, lawyer and organizer focused on migrant justice and anti-imperialism, and Silky Shah, detention abolition leader and author, explore immigration policing as a pillar of racial capitalism. They unpack enforcement expansion, detention warehousing, local impacts in Minneapolis, and strategies like mutual aid, narrative work, and international solidarity to make borders obsolete.
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The Border Is A Global Colonial Technology
- Borders function as colonial and racial technologies that extend beyond lines into policing and empire.
- Harsha Walia emphasizes that bordering externalizes violence globally and collapses core/periphery divisions.
Detention Is A Weaponized Health Regime
- Immigration policing operates as a counterinsurgent health regime that weaponizes vulnerability and care.
- Beatrice Adler-Bolton frames detention's neglect (crowding, bad medical care) as deliberate governance to enforce compliance.
Neighborhood Crews Stopped Detentions
- Minneapolis formed hundreds of decentralized crews doing mutual aid, rapid response, and defense to protect neighbors from raids.
- Actions included carpenters fixing kicked doors, tow drivers rescuing abandoned cars, and comprehensive support for new parents.
