Exactly. Construction used to be a good job for a man with a limited education and a strong back who was willing to work hard. Such a man could support his family in a solid, middle-class lifestyle slinging a hammer. I know. I worked construction in college and the pay was outrageous.
Now the industry has been taken over by illegals willing to work for a fraction of what Americans were paid. Funny, I haven't seen housing prices plummet as a result. Why? Because the builders still bill the same for the work, they just pocket the difference in wages paid out to their employees, openly breaking the law with a smile on their face and a mountain of cash in their bank accounts.
That won't work in this instance. For employers in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, DHS temporarily suspended them from having to check for ID, green cards, etc. Also, in the areas hit by Katrina Bush temporarily suspended the Davis-Bacon Act so local contractors don't have to pay "prevailing" wages.
These things ARE happening. A friend in North Carolina told me she talked with a black man who is very angry because he works in construction and was paid decently but they let him go suddenly. He said they were hiring illegals at half the wage.