Why are there so few Hispanic Immigrants in Williston ND? (New Town: real estate, rent)

[A Recruiter]

An old friend of mine moved to Williston and I went out there last year to visit him. What a scene! We were talking about all the people who move there sight unseen who had never even heard of North Dakota before and start working within a few days of arrival. Many of these people are unskilled and were struggling in their old home town keeping blue collar work.

But what shocked my friend and I is how few Hispanic Immigrants are living and working in Williston. (Yes, there are some, but not that many) You would think that the word would get out and the immigrants from Latin America would flood into town and lower wages for everyone. This is not happening to any large degree, why not?

[DNYGRL]

I was wondering this myself. I assume the immigration amnesty and all the other immigration changes will but an end to that. I am sure its a matter of time before they flood in. the government will probably put in camps for them and feed them. they wont have a thing to worry about like we did when we got here. this is the main reason I arrived here and not in a few years. I was at job service the other day, and I over heard a farmer say he was looking for immigrant workers. the lady stated you can only hire them if you cant find americans to do the job. how can you regulate that?

[lisan23]

The same reason it's not happening with any other race. It's a combination of the cold winters and lack of housing. Many people come up here and work the warmer months then leave when it gets cold.

And I highly doubt the immigration changes will make a huge change. Most people from Latin America and Mexico are used to warmer temperatures, you won't find a lot of them living here, in northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, etc. It's just to cold. If anything, we will see more Canadians (and we already have quite a few down here). I don't foresee our government ever building a camp targeted to house immigrants only in this area. Not only would it be a violation of federal housing laws, it stands the chance of getting extremely negative publicity. Overall, it's a terrible and illegal idea.

[ElkHunter]

You might be looking in the wrong place. There are many Migrant immagrant workers in North Dakota, that work the Agricultural scene.

Besides, the last thing that North Dakota needs is a group of people wanting to "lower" the wages paid in the Bakken.

[NDSUBison]

Every job that I have had that was in North Dakota required me to prove that I was a US citizen.

I know that there are Hispanics that come up and work agriculture but they almost always go back to wherever after the harvest/growing season is over.

I believe its because our state is more harsh on jobs with regards to hiring US citizens. I have worked construction and before I was able to work I had to provide a birth certificate or social security card in addition to a drivers license.

[DNYGRL]

the migrant worker situation in florida has been out of control for years. real estate investors come in and buy up apt complexes, then rent them out to migrant works for crazy rents. the employers hardly ever check to see if they are legal. I remembered when they passed the law you had to check their credentials, but that law was never ever enforced. remember, migrants are highly transient, they move with the seasons. I only see the winter weather being a problem to them. there is no doubt in my mind they would love to work in this nice summer weather up here. another thing about migrant workers. they are truly tough people. they are known to do whatever they need to do in order to survive.

[fourwinds]

On an oil crew, everyone has to speak the same language or people get maimed and hurt. My brother-in-law is a drill foreman and he has worked with numerous spanish-language crews in Texas and Oklahoma. There at least a couple of the crew spoke English well (including technical terms) to converse with him and translate, but those crews communicated in Spanish with each other. Plus there was the green card issue (necessary for most oil employers).

Two languages in the oil field just doesn't work for work to get done properly and safely.

My brother-in-law just took a ND position in Burke County (and he hates drilling in ND winters).

[GG Johnson]

Ha ha buddy, there are plenty of Hispanics here and we are not "lowering wages for everyone." In fact you can't get most Latinos up here without decent pay..... the winters wouldn't be worth dealing with otherwise.....

[scorpio125]

I saw plenty while i was there.

[Chael]

I see plenty of them around New Town & Parshall. I do satellite TV installation and half my installations in that area are hispanics wanting their Latin channels.