The Chicken Hanger

"The Chicken Hanger" confronts the present-day controversy of politics and prejudice along the Texas-Mexico border through the eyes of one illegal immigrant, Ricky Delgado. After Ricky's brother Tomas is shot in the hand while crossing the border into the U.S., the two must decide to risk deportation and seek justice, or remain silent and endure the misfortunes of illegal aliens. Meanwhile, Ricky is battling a disease he unknowingly acquired in the poultry plant where he hangs chickens for a living. Author Ben Rehder weaves between multiple perspectives and opinions of border-town Americans and those hoping to become Americans, and asks whether a man's worth is measured by his citizenship, or by the life he leads. Long-standing arguments about border control in the South and the motives of opposing sides create a suspenseful tale of one illegal immigrant's fight for justice in the land of the free.