In the sidewalks around Jay's Market, contractors and landscaping companies pull up constantly. No one cares that men are taken to job sites where they will be paid under the table for a day's work, usually around $8 an hour. The practice is widely known and largely unchecked.

Gonzalez is thankful for the steady work. He usually gets chosen for a job and sends money home to his wife and 7-year-old son in Mexico. Justich projects illegal immigrants will send $19 billion to $20 billion home to Mexico this year.

Gonzalez was deported once, but easily made his way back to booming Las Vegas, where jobs are plentiful.

'Here you can work year round,' he said. 'It gets hot, but the climate is a lot like Mexico.'

But in the underground economy, there is no one to make sure workers like Gonzalez are getting paid and are treated properly. Many workers are willing to take risks to get cash, sometimes at horrible consequences.

A 2004 Associated Press investigation found that Mexican workers are 80 percent more likely to die on the job than are native-born workers.

The hazard is not just workplace safety. Upset that he wasn't paid for three weeks, construction worker Jesus Hernandez shot his boss to death in January 2004 in Lehi, Utah, and is now serving five years to life in prison.

Next: Page 6