I'm not going to really jump on you for this since I don't know where you live and work, but...
In my area I haven't met one immigrant electrician. Most of the illegals (and legals) around here are Mexican, and honestly, in their respective trades they do very good work, similar to what we used to see from Italian masons and tile guys.
/start rant
I have my own take on what killed the quality in this field and it has nothing to do with immigrants of any status. I started bending pipe when I was 12 or thirteen years old under one of the grouchiest masters you can imagine who also happened to be Armenian. There was an absolute right way and tons of wrong ways to do almost anything and he drilled it into me every day. "This is how you strip your wires, this is how you bundle them, this is how you twist them, this is how you trim them, now hand me a wirenut." That's what my training was like day in and day out every summer when I worked with him. Those lessons stuck in my mind to this day, and believe it or not, even knowing I'm underpaid I try to do things the right way.
What forms my take on the changes in our field is my own (somewhat rare) history - I moved to Europe back in 1992 and only returned fifteen years later in 2006 to the trade. What a shock!
1) First off, there's this whole "Git 'er done!" philosophy I see all over the place in every trade. They don't mean "Git 'er done right!" just "Git 'er done!" Slop it in, glue it, screw it and I can't see it from my house. This attitude completely ignores one of the oldest parts of the NEC which is that "All work shall be completed in a workmanlike manner." You won't do anything right if you think it's cool to be a redneck.
2) There are issues with the young generation. From what I see, they tend to be an overly coddled, overly praised bunch of spoiled kids who are too good to have respect for any kind of work ethic that makes demands on them. The few who have their schei? together are visible from 10 miles away while the rest of them are just waiting for a reason to quit.
3) Pay scale. I realize this is a sensitive one for a lot of ECs, but the reality is that when I was growing up, I knew that electricians were one of the highest paid trades. Nowadays, (at least in my area) those of us who are non-union make less than secretaries. How can a guy take pride in the work he does when he can't afford to make ends meet? Should I as an electrician getting paid $16/hr in an area where the median home price is over half a million dollars be expected to take responsibility for running a resi addition, or a three-phase commercial pipe job both of which include dealing with the inspectors or should I just be the guy who slaps it in? Should I be terminating the CAT-5s and coax stuff? Should I be the one to call the POCO when I find a problem on their end at a customer's residence? Where do I get to draw the line?
4) Self Image. This is what the first three lead up to. If you think of yourself as just another "dime a dozen" electrician, that's what your work will reflect.
/end rant
Take pride in your work. Maybe someday it'll be worth it
