Hammy, I didn't wish to make my personal family experiences somehow a measure of all others. And, it isn't with great relish that I post some inkling of what some of my family came through. No, criminality, outlaw or skirtlaw is not the sole means of getting a foothold. Yes hard work is always desirable and admirable. My immigrant ancestors did plenty of both - very hard work as laborers, and some 'skirtlaw' activities. Some on a pretty big scale.
But every one of those immigrant groups went through a process of being underdogs, discriminated against, dispised by other previous groups that tried to hold them down, and many, many used some sort of 'hustle' to get a foot up to counteract those oppressive forces and escape poverty. Many folks that are very well-to-do now come from money that was not made the old fashion way, with just sweat and tears and muscle sore, etc. They 'levereged up' with some 'hustle'. There were and are many shades of hustle, from illegal dealings of various commodities and services, to running some gambling, to you name the theft, fraud, or other schemes. And, violence is never far behind the seemingly non-violent activities. And to some folks, we romaniticize that 'hustle' as part of the so-called hard work and the "american way". American cinema and entertainment is hooked on that concept. But it isn't admirable in my book. Breaking laws and skirting laws to use underdog people like some folks making a killing right now skirting those very immigration laws we put in place to protect what happened to prior generations of exploited alleins and hiring illegal aliens because they can be exploited easiest; and it is criminal!
As an example: I was in a setting where a fellow was a bit inebriated and is a pretty big player in 'human resources'. He does a lot of the 'recruiting' for a plant that traditionally hires illegal aliens. For whatever reason, he knew I was a retired cop, and being of a certain age and all, he assumed I was some sort of person or from some sort of associated occupation that is also a kindred 'oppressor' of 'icans'. He started bragging how profitable and easy it is to hire illegals for the particular hard work they did at that plant, (meat-packing). He bragged at how they save plenty because they don't have to pay the higher unemployment and disability and insurance premiums because when those illegals cut their fingers off, they don't report anything, etc. And, they have no where to run if they don't get the full benefits of OT etc, that Americans have a right to via State laws and union contract provisions. I guess he didn't realise I was once a union leader and negotiator. I had a great deal of difficulty from myself ending up in jail that time, as I wanted to turn his lights off.
The Kennedy's, at the near immigrant stage, are well known to have gotten their big foothold up in wealth via shady illegal or skirtlaw means.
Many on Wall Street had broken the law!!! They have been doing it regularly and only few getting caught at rare intervals for many decades. They have the best of both the established world and the underworld in that regulations and lack of enforcement of them or obfuscation of them are something that gets controlled by 'spreading the wealth around' (in a slightly different context than you guys are trying to imply with 'socialism' scare tactics). Wealth buys otherwise criminal guys out of consequences, or avoids detection. It is the oldest story in the book, and to suggest that immigrants didn't or don't recognise that little aspect of our 'economy' and society as a means or the accepted way to get ahead, is naive at best.