An oft-repeated explanation for this sea change is that immigrants took jobs from Americans while, somewhat paradoxically, Americans no longer wanted to do the backbreaking work required to build a house.
First, construction jobs became less desirable, as eroding wages and working conditions diminished the quality and job security of the profession. Only then did immigrants, with the encouragement of the political and business class, fill a gap that was already opening
In Orange County, Mr. Moore began to see his generation of American-born unionized roofers leave the industry.
“They all just disappeared,” he said. One day in 2000, he looked out at his job site and realized he was the only worker on the roof who wasn’t an immigrant.
By then, the high demand for housing and fewer worker protections had led to tough working conditions. For Mario, 47, who first came to the United States in 1997 from Morelia, Mexico, as a teenager, roofing paid better than picking cucumbers and bell peppers, but it wasn’t easy.
Mario was an adult by the time he started roofing, but many undocumented roofers are minors, doing one of the deadliest jobs in the country, usually without health insurance.
Things I Find Interesting [aka, the stuff rattling around inside the brain of Torr Leonard] 