I remember doing the accounting for a Brick Mason who had a large company in town. He pulled up stakes and closed down his business when it became too difficult to meet the payroll. The burden of having employees was too great in our community. No one wanted to hire people for the increasing cost of doing business in our community. Instead, they hired the company who provided the illegal workers.
I believe the burden on employers is way too high. Not only do they have to pay the wage, but they also have to pay all the perks and benefits and then pay the cost of being sued for all sorts of frivolous claims. When they conclude that it isn't worth it, I don't blame them.
JMO. BTW...I remember working in law offices where there were 3-4 attorneys and 6-8 support staff. Today those attorneys work without that staff in very many cases. They can't afford the same staff. People no longer have those jobs because the cost of those jobs is just too high.
If the INS had prosecuted the construction company that employed the illegal aliens, the company that employed the American citizens would still be in business.
The fools in your community have passed on the costs of the 'cheap' labor for their home construction to all the rest of the U.S. Taxpayers.
They get cheap bricks and the lawbreaking construction company gets windfall profits and the rest of us get the bill for emergency room care, food-stamps, welfare, rental assistance, education, interpreters, etc. for all these, so-called, 'cheap', illegal alien laborers.
As has been said before, the mantra of these crooked business owners is 'Privatize profits, Socialize costs!'