The two janitors, who asked not to be identified, are legal permanent residents originally from El Salvador. The couple say they were displaced from their previous janitorial jobs because illegal immigrants were hired for less than they were paid.

"They prefer illegals," "Mike," who speaks little English, said in Spanish.

Their former employer says the allegations are false.

While it couldn't be confirmed whether the case was real or a matter of perception, such cases are tough to prove, says Joseph Romel, assistant special agent in charge of the Utah Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices.

The Ogden and Provo offices receive weekly calls reporting alleged illegal immigrants or those who hire them, but not from displaced workers, Romel says.

Alex Segura of the Utah Minuteman Project says a few people have come to him with claims that they've been replaced by illegal workers, but he has been so far unable to take legal action in any of the cases.

Segura says he hopes state lawmakers will take action to hold employers accountable at the hiring stage.

"It's virtually impossible, once someone has been laid off, to hold an employer responsible," he said. "They can come up with any number of reasons for why they laid an employee off."

Sherrie Hayashi, director of the Utah Labor Commission's anti-discrimination and labor division, says legal status isn't a protected class for those filing discrimination complaints. Her office receives a couple such calls each month, which are normally referred to the U.S. Department of Justice.

While the Labor Commission doesn't track the legal status of complainants, Hayashi says a bigger problem seems to be cases such as employers threatening to report workers to ICE, or employers not paying wages to employers.

"We're seeing an increasingly diverse population here in Utah, and the Hispanic population is growing, proportionally, at a higher rate than the total average population," she said. "We're doing our best to make sure people know what their rights are."

"Certain employers are so addicted to illegal labor they know how to play the game," Yapias said.

Yapias says legal immigrants in low-wage jobs have an advantage over illegal immigrants because they can just quit and find another job. Undocumented immigrants are much more fearful, he said.

"An undocumented person, no matter what, is going to have less of a complaint. ... An illegal would never ask for a raise," Yapias said. "As an undocumented, you're going to take what's offered."

Unfair competition

Jesse Wood, a Provo painting contractor, says he loses bids because he can't afford to compete with contractors who hire illegal workers.