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.
I understand what you are describing in the SF area.
What Americans are learning here in NJ (and many other places) is that LEGAL immigrants pose as much a threat to our way of life as the illegals (if not worse, as they don’t have to live in the shadows). A lot of white-color jobs (of various skill levels) are being taken by Asians here in the NYC metro area (and even SE Pennsylvania); they are businesses’ solution to salaries in the white-collar fields. There is no shortage for any field they fill; they are just driving wages lower.
Both types of immigrants are being trafficked here to simply replace Americans who are increasingly dying off without breeding...