I’m in northeastern NJ (about a dozen miles west of NYC); when news sites report that all new jobs have gone to immigrants, we are exhibit A. Not just crappy jobs, but also the few remaining decent jobs are being filled by imported coolies to replace the Americans in those roles.
Construction work (such as it is, given the death spiral here) is filled with Hispanics; you can visit the Meadowlands Flea Market next to Giants Stadium (about half a dozen miles north of me) every Saturday and watch them buy tools (and every other household item - lamps, toasters, etc.) from the laid-off Americans that are losing everything. Manufacturing left here decades ago, and IT is filled with Asians (whole housing developments have watched them replace Americans over the years).
The simplistic solution is to simply leave, following jobs - and many do. It doesn’t just leave an area devoid of young people (and a LOT of empty homes); often those young people themselves don’t make more young people - and we are living with the consequences. We are trafficking people here (including illegals) just to keep apartments and public school classrooms occupied at this point - and the dwindling pool of tax-paying Americans are footing the bill for their every need (housing, food, schooling, healthcare, Obamaphones, etc.).
That's a shame. I've taken the train from Trenton to NYC, and seen a lot of blight in New Jersey along the way. Figured it was just the area surrounding the tracks, but just didn't know much about New Jersey. It just looked bad compared to what we have in California. The worst areas here in the SF Bay Area look pleasant in comparison.
As I said, there are lots of jobs here. Unfortunately, a lot of immigrants (and out-of-state Americans) are attracted here. A lot are ill-equipped and end up homeless. And as you said, a lot of construction work (the simpler variety) is filled with Hispanics. At many homes undergoing remodeling you can hear the workers chattering away in Spanish. In some better SF neighborhoods like the Richmond District or Pacific Heights there are remodeling projects going on almost every block. There are cranes downtown building various buildings. Those larger building projects still have lots of white workers. Lots of new buildings going up for biotech, medical, IT, hotel and museum workers. Whole new neighborhoods created in the last 15 years from nothing. Construction is hot.
In IT, yes there are lots of immigrants, but legal, not illegals. A lot of Asians, many of which are Chinese and Indian. But also many from Europe and Russia. Having retired from IT, I encountered many programmers from Russia and Ukraine (many came from the USSR after the Soviet breakup). Cities down south on the SF peninsula, formerly all white, are now majority Asian, which is a big change.
The consequence of this influx are children. Lots of family types, and young people having babies. Baby strollers are everywhere. Children playing everywhere. Numbers of gays has dwindled and is going down, as they leave to be replaced by people better equipped to pay high costs of housing. There is friction between the haves and have-nots here, as evidenced by the protests. But the net result is that infra-structure improves, and quality-of-life is pretty good, a far cry from what is happening elsewhere. It sucks having liberals running politics. The growth here is not due to them; they benefit from the University/business model here. Hopefully, as more normal people flood in maybe the liberals will be forced out.
If one has schooling (and is not lazy), an American can get a good-paying job here (although you might not be able to afford the rent). My daughters have jobs in biotech and publishing. My nephews and nieces are in various fields like engineering, carpentry, government etc., but not in fast-food which is occupied by the unskilled. If you look closely at the protesters you'll notice most are latino immigrants.
I don't know what the answer is for NJ, other than as you say, to leave. Politicians rarely fix things. Change has to come from individuals who create change that starts growth. We got lucky out west. There are good opportunities going on in the south. Lots of growth in Texas.