Everyone starts off at the bottom rung usually. The go getters from other countries want to work hard to keep their money...that's whats such a shock to the Latin American workers...they get to KEEP most of their money.. and don't usually have to pay off the "patron" or the "mordida".
It's pure capitalism.... money talks. In this country the "poor" are happy with being able to have cable tv, payment for car, cell phone, recreational pharmaceuticals in any form, the occasional vacation and rent.......
In other words pay check to pay check.... Immigrants save in order to buy a business, bring others over to "make more money", buy a house (ownership in most other Latin American countries is rare) and better their kids through education or the military....
You are leaving a lot out here, the reason illegals get to keep most of their money is they do not have to pay for the things most Americans have to pay for- many do not pay taxes, many do not pay for insurance, do not pay hospital bills, use social services to get extra things they cannot afford on their low wages, do not have to pay for their children's education, in many states children of illegals get free tuition at State Colleges. If my husband and I would not have had to pay all those things I am sure we would have gotten further ahead also.
Things may be very different where you are, but I know many people here (even though we are on the border) do not hire illegals and manage to find decent help and somehow get by. Including jobs on farms, ranches, and in construction- even services like cleaning and waiting tables. Of course there are those who hire illegals and won't hire US Citizens, they usually pay low wages, and don't want to hear about unsafe work conditions or what have you. I find it hard to believe so many Americans are as sorry as you say where you are.
Don't forget people who are doing something illegal, like hiring illegal workers, will often attempt to justify what they are doing so they don't feel guilty. I know the employers here who do hire illegals say the same things you do- somehow other businesses make hiring Americans and following the law work out for them.