Most egregious in these practices is that the initial (legal) hires are typically the only ones speaking English, so they have no clue how much is being "skimme

Most egregious in these practices is that the initial (legal) hires are typically the only ones speaking English, so they have no clue how much is being "skimmed" from their own labor... and their immigration status ensures compliance with status quo. No matter a $250,000 nor $2,500,000 will prevent this in my Southern experience. I know in the South Dakota of my childhood memories, the "illegals" were undocumented Russians (not brown).