>> If there are no illegals to abuse, the wages start to rise but also the bullying to perpetuate the status quo goes up a notch.

Since a few individuals began to accumulate more property than the masses around them, - some say it began with the transition from hunting to gathering- the rich have been telling the not-so-poor that the enemy is that really poor guy over there who wants to take what you have.
It worked beautifully in the South for over a hundred years.
Hearst did miracles with the "Yellow Peril" in the early 1900's.
It tickles me when I hear people who barely make enough to subsist state proudly that they'd never join a union.

That works until the not-so-poor guys and the really-poor guys put their heads together and figure out who the enemy really is.