Let’s Talk about Chickens and Migrants

During a stay in Tampa, Florida, I had the opportunity to visit the historic neighborhood of Ybor City, where chickens roam the streets and no one would dare to chase them away. Drivers stop to let them pass and shopkeepers allow them to enter their businesses; laws protect these birds so that they can live in this bohemian setting as if they were in their own barnyard.

The fact is that Tampa has officially designated Ybor City as a bird sanctuary to preserve its history of roosters crowing on the old brick roads. These chickens date back to the early 19th century when the first immigrants from Cuba, Spain and Italy arrived and fed the now untouchable feathered creatures.

The Ybor City neighborhood is distinguished by its similar white-painted wooden homes with front porches — houses once occupied by its first inhabitants and which are now preserved for history.

In the center of the sprawling neighborhood are many Cuban and other Latin restaurants, as well as boutiques and clothing stores. The restaurants are valued for their famous Cuban sandwiches, which, according to food historians, were invented in Ybor City. Immigrants from the Caribbean island introduced the crusty bread that sandwiched delicious pork and other ingredients. Then the Italians added salami to give a contemporary touch.

And now, thousands of Hondurans who found job opportunities in these businesses are fleeing SB 1718, a law that criminalizes the stay of undocumented immigrants in Florida. Before the law went into effect last Saturday, 240,000 Hondurans lived in Florida, most of whom were working in Tampa, with wages of up to $19 an hour, according to the September 15 Foundation.

A month ago in Tampa, a group of Hondurans led by Juan Flores managed to gather more than 5,000 people to peacefully claim the right to do jobs that American citizens themselves despise; however, they failed to get Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to back down on his anti-immigration policy.

The undocumented immigrants who dared to stay in Florida plan to resort to case history to prevent U.S. authorities from violating their rights. But many others are already far from the paradise where chickens fearlessly walk in the streets.