Opening Arguments Silky Shah has been fighting ICE for its entire existence
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Jan 21, 2026 
Silky Shah, Executive Director of the Detention Watch Network and a prominent voice in immigrant justice, shares her decades-long battle against ICE. She discusses the evolution of immigration detention since the 1980s and how legal changes fueled its growth. Silky highlights the mixed emotions of hope and fear surrounding detention deaths and calls for strategic collaboration between lawyers and organizers. She advocates for a world beyond ICE, emphasizing investments in housing and healthcare instead of enforcement, and finds inspiration in grassroots movements.
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Started Fighting Detention As ICE Was Born
- Silky Shah began organizing on detention and prisons immediately after college in 2003, at the same time ICE was formed.
- She moved into frontline work in Texas addressing border detention and prison expansion after 9/11 reshaped resources and priorities.
Detention Grew With Mass Incarceration
- Immigration detention's growth is deeply tied to the rise of mass incarceration and punitive federal policy.
- Laws in 1986 and 1996 and post-9/11 enforcement turned civil immigration into a major driver of federal criminal prosecutions and detention beds.
Budgets Create A Ratchet For Growth
- ICE funding is subject to a ratchet effect: small increases become new baselines and drive further expansion.
- Congressional maneuvers and agency budget games ensure detention and enforcement continue growing despite claims of cuts.
