"I thought we wanted cheap labor."
***
That too...but in the construction trades here in AZ they get paid prevailing wages, i.e. in the range of $10-$15 per hour, depending on their trade and experience...plus plenty of overtime if they want it. They make a very good living here compared to "whence they came".
Paying them that much defeats the purpose, I would think.
Don't mean to be picky, but construction trades are paying closer to $18.00 per hour (low end). The documents they present are great, then in a quarter you find out they are fake.
Also the CITY, AND STATE, have work centers for them with don't ask policy.
True story. I had a patient, a small 31 y.o woman come into our clinic for treatment a couple of weeks ago.
A few months ago, she did some serious damage to her shoulder, that possibly will warrant surgery to repair it.
She did it while using a jackhammer. This woman, was not much bigger than a jackhammer herself!
When I joked with her about that, she told me that there wasn't enough money in the housekeeping or cleaning jobs, so she opted to work in construction to support her kids.
"they get paid prevailing wages"
You mean those wages that have been distorted by the availability of cheap non-taxpaying workers ?