I live in Orange County, CA; bought a house several months ago, and the previous owner had gardener who came regularly. The guy charges ten bucks to mow and trim the lawn, and sweep up the leaves and clippings. He comes once a week, does a nice job, charges 10 bucks a visit. I have no idea if he can make a decent living (his name is hispanic, and his address is in Garden Grove--for you non-local freepers, that implies cheap living).
On the other hand, my SoCal lawn is about 10 yards by 10 yards...and takes a lot less than an hour to mow and trim. I could probably do it myself in 10 minutes or less. I could buy a mower AND a trimmer for less than 200 bucks total at Home Depot. At that rate, I'd be money ahead in a few months...so I've been writing him (I don't have his number) to ask him to stop coming. I haven't had a chance to actually BE there on the day he usually shows up. I want to fire his ass but so far can't!
Anyway--here's my point. I'll admit, I probably could have hunted this guy down and fired him long ago. But I'm lazy, and 40-50 bucks a month to keep the lawn spiffy is ok while I'm working my ass off. I don't know if he's illegal--if it were some kid from down the block, just as good. Does that make me an elitist? Should I try to bust this guy, who may or may not be legal?
Anyway--I don't think this guy, by American standards, is doing great harm to our economy, or stealing jobs ('cept maybe the odd teenager's pocket money). I suspect he's scraping by, sending whatever profit down to Mexico to support relatives. Does that mean I oppose strict immigration control? Hell no. I'm just not sure that cheap immigrant labor means anything at all to people who can afford alternatives!
The truly elite (not me, unfortunately!) can afford more expensive 'help'. That doesn't necessarily mean that cheap help is harming the economy for most americans, though. What it *might* translate into is, generally higher prices on cheap goods like produce and other groceries, etc., etc. Not that the elite would care. But the average family on a budget might.
I oppose illegal immigration 100%, but not so much from an economic standpoint as from a criminal justice/cultural assimilation standpoint. Our immigration laws are meaningless without real enforcement. And the huge tide of illegals makes it impossible for us to retain our values. I think the economic argument is the least supportable when it comes to immigration reform, and unfortunately blurs the issue. Let's stick to our big guns and hammer away.