WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.480 --> 00:00:07.080 It's like just past ten thirty and the vibe is 2 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:10.080 just picking up here at the club and I'm watching 3 00:00:10.200 --> 00:00:13.680 as people are coming in and it's really a mixture. 4 00:00:14.040 --> 00:00:19.040 I'm in Williston, North Dakota, with Latino USA producer Rinaldo 5 00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:19.640 leanz J. 6 00:00:20.040 --> 00:00:24.680 You've got like a lot of Latin American Latina women 7 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:25.919 who are coming in. 8 00:00:26.440 --> 00:00:29.800 We're sitting in a big but cozy booth at a 9 00:00:29.800 --> 00:00:31.400 restaurant with an interesting name. 10 00:00:31.640 --> 00:00:33.440 It's called Segnor Egg. 11 00:00:33.960 --> 00:00:37.239 The restaurant is closed now, They've moved the tables out 12 00:00:37.240 --> 00:00:40.040 of the way and the space is now turned into 13 00:00:40.280 --> 00:00:40.800 a club. 14 00:00:41.360 --> 00:00:43.080 Tonight it's Latino night. 15 00:00:43.680 --> 00:00:46.199 There was nothing like this in Williston last time, and 16 00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:48.280 I can tell this place is going to be popping 17 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:52.520 at a matter of minutes. I first went to North 18 00:00:52.600 --> 00:00:56.720 Dakota about a decade ago. I was here reporting on 19 00:00:56.800 --> 00:00:59.600 the beginnings of the oil boom in the western part 20 00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:03.320 of the state and its impact on the Fort Berthold Reservation. 21 00:01:04.240 --> 00:01:06.800 Back then, North Dakota was in the middle of a 22 00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:11.240 lot of change in terms of latinos and latinas well. 23 00:01:11.560 --> 00:01:15.640 You might see one here or there, but tonight in Williston, 24 00:01:16.240 --> 00:01:19.319 there are a lot of them. I'm looking around this 25 00:01:19.480 --> 00:01:23.759 restaurant turned club and there are Dominican servers, there's a 26 00:01:23.800 --> 00:01:28.639 young Mexican DJ, there are couples Latinos with white women, 27 00:01:28.920 --> 00:01:29.880 a queer couple. 28 00:01:30.520 --> 00:01:34.440 It's a really interesting vibe. 29 00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:38.560 The oil boom has lured thousands of Latinos into this 30 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:43.240 region in recent years. The owner of this restaurant slash 31 00:01:43.400 --> 00:01:48.720 disco is David Garcia Ocampo. He's originally from Mexico. 32 00:01:50.200 --> 00:01:52.480 Everyone has to dream. My dream was like to on 33 00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:56.320 a restaurant. Would it be here? No, it wasn't the idea. 34 00:01:56.800 --> 00:02:00.320 As a teenager, David lived in Arizona and there worked 35 00:02:00.320 --> 00:02:03.440 in restaurants. He washed dishes, he cooked, then he was 36 00:02:03.480 --> 00:02:06.960 a manager. In twenty thirteen, David moved to Williston to 37 00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:10.440 open a restaurant. He spent several years here in Williston, 38 00:02:10.880 --> 00:02:13.440 but then he decided he wanted to do something different, 39 00:02:13.919 --> 00:02:18.920 something on his own, for his community, and that's why 40 00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:22.119 he opened Seg Your Egg in twenty twenty one. 41 00:02:22.440 --> 00:02:26.520 Here we serve reafasts, lunch and dinner, so we mixed 42 00:02:26.520 --> 00:02:30.360 it a little bit Mexican food and American food. 43 00:02:30.720 --> 00:02:33.960 The Latinos and Latinas that started coming to his restaurant 44 00:02:34.080 --> 00:02:36.680 told David they wanted a space where they could come 45 00:02:36.720 --> 00:02:40.840 together and organize events like a Latino Night where dancing 46 00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:42.280 would be the main thing. 47 00:02:42.760 --> 00:02:44.920 I was like, all right, let's give it a try, 48 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:48.920 like with an advertiser. And that was like Friday or right, 49 00:02:49.080 --> 00:02:53.560 we decide to do it, Let's do it tomorrow, and 50 00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:54.600 people show. 51 00:02:54.480 --> 00:02:55.519 Up like crazy. 52 00:02:55.520 --> 00:02:59.079 It's a small town. The word is spread out like crazy. 53 00:02:59.600 --> 00:03:01.239 We go over one hundred people. 54 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:04.480 In here and it just grew from there. 55 00:03:04.720 --> 00:03:07.240 The second time we have like one hundred and sixty 56 00:03:07.240 --> 00:03:09.760 people in here. There was a line at the Lore 57 00:03:09.919 --> 00:03:12.120 people trying to come in tonight. 58 00:03:12.280 --> 00:03:16.000 David is expecting a pretty good turnout. There's no doubt 59 00:03:16.040 --> 00:03:19.240 that Latinos and Latinas have changed and are changing the 60 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:24.240 face of North Dakota. But living in North Dakota isn't easy. 61 00:03:24.600 --> 00:03:27.880 It's not for the faint of heart. The freezing winters, 62 00:03:28.280 --> 00:03:33.040 the hard working conditions, the dark, dark nights. So it 63 00:03:33.080 --> 00:03:36.240 begs the question, why are so many Latinos and Latinas 64 00:03:36.480 --> 00:03:40.760 coming to North Dakota and how has that growth been received. 65 00:03:41.040 --> 00:03:44.200 The answer, as always, is complicated. 66 00:03:48.160 --> 00:03:52.440 From FUTU Media and PRX, It's Latino USA I'm Maria 67 00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:54.000 jo Josa today. 68 00:03:54.400 --> 00:03:56.000 Ever since the. 69 00:03:55.840 --> 00:04:00.680 Oil a look at North Dakota's oil and population and 70 00:04:00.760 --> 00:04:03.880 the big role Latinos play in both of them. 71 00:04:04.360 --> 00:04:12.360 This is part one. 72 00:04:12.600 --> 00:04:17.240 There is some data that sticks with me, and I 73 00:04:17.279 --> 00:04:20.599 think this piece of data is going to stick with you, 74 00:04:21.760 --> 00:04:26.560 because North Dakota saw an almost one hundred and fifty 75 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:31.400 percent growth rate of Latinos and latinas between the years 76 00:04:31.440 --> 00:04:36.560 of twenty ten and twenty twenty. North Dakota had the 77 00:04:36.600 --> 00:04:41.080 biggest growth of Latinos in the country and that's according 78 00:04:41.120 --> 00:04:46.159 to the US Census. And that growth is even bigger 79 00:04:46.440 --> 00:04:50.039 in Mackenzie County, in the western part of North Dakota, 80 00:04:50.640 --> 00:04:53.880 and that's where producer Renaldo Leanos Junior and I were 81 00:04:53.920 --> 00:05:00.000 reporting this summer. What's driving this huge Latino population growth 82 00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:03.240 is an oil boom that started around two thousand and eight, 83 00:05:03.720 --> 00:05:08.240 turning North Dakota into the third biggest oil producer in 84 00:05:08.279 --> 00:05:08.960 the country. 85 00:05:09.160 --> 00:05:13.160 Welcome to North Dakota, the state the recession, for god. 86 00:05:13.240 --> 00:05:16.560 The industry came here and the politicians opened the doors 87 00:05:16.600 --> 00:05:19.000 wide open and said, come on in and you just 88 00:05:19.080 --> 00:05:21.120 make us rich. And that's what's happened. 89 00:05:21.160 --> 00:05:26.839 Of course here in North Dakota, oil touches everything. The 90 00:05:26.920 --> 00:05:30.839 oil and gas industry has created tens of thousands of 91 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:35.080 well paid jobs, and it generates billions of dollars every 92 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:40.160 year in North Dakota. But with oil often there comes 93 00:05:40.360 --> 00:05:45.560 controversy among some communities. The extraction method known as fracking 94 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:52.240 is considered deeply destructive, especially among environmentalists and Native American communities, 95 00:05:52.880 --> 00:05:55.679 and this is land that they've been living on since 96 00:05:55.760 --> 00:05:56.800 time immemorial. 97 00:05:57.400 --> 00:06:01.360 Tonight, police moving in forcibly arrest seeing the remaining pipeline 98 00:06:01.400 --> 00:06:02.839 protesters in North Dakota. 99 00:06:03.320 --> 00:06:06.600 A US district court on Monday ruled the Dakota Access 100 00:06:06.640 --> 00:06:10.160 Pipeline must shut down within thirty days. 101 00:06:10.640 --> 00:06:13.920 So in this episode we take a deeper look at 102 00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:18.520 the tensions around this all powerful industry. And next week 103 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:20.800 we're going to get to know who are the Latinos 104 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:25.120 and Latinas driving this demographic shift in North Dakota and 105 00:06:25.200 --> 00:06:28.200 what challenges they face when trying to build a new 106 00:06:28.240 --> 00:06:35.200 community here. But first we actually want to talk about politics. Yes, 107 00:06:35.600 --> 00:06:39.599 because the midterms are coming up, but also because during 108 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:43.279 our summer reporting in Mackenzie County we noticed a. 109 00:06:43.240 --> 00:06:44.520 Very clear trend. 110 00:06:45.240 --> 00:06:48.080 We met a lot of Latinos and Latinas who work 111 00:06:48.080 --> 00:06:51.200 in the oil and gas industry and who have become 112 00:06:51.400 --> 00:06:58.279 Republican in recent years. This morning, when we headed out 113 00:06:58.320 --> 00:07:02.040 of our hotel and the sun was rising and the 114 00:07:02.080 --> 00:07:03.760 sky was pink. 115 00:07:03.560 --> 00:07:04.760 And never ending. 116 00:07:05.520 --> 00:07:08.000 There were a lot of trucks on the road already, 117 00:07:08.400 --> 00:07:12.640 but there was a kind of quiet. And then when 118 00:07:12.680 --> 00:07:17.200 we pulled into a kind of nondescript parking lot, pretty 119 00:07:17.280 --> 00:07:20.880 industrial right in front of us, on a little piece 120 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:24.480 of grass, there were bunnies jumping around. 121 00:07:25.880 --> 00:07:26.400 This city. 122 00:07:26.480 --> 00:07:30.720 Williston has a population of about thirty two thousand people 123 00:07:31.400 --> 00:07:35.880 and it's near the northern border of Mackenzie County. I 124 00:07:36.080 --> 00:07:40.880 first came to Williston a decade ago, and Williston itself 125 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:46.280 has changed a lot. It was basically a town that 126 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:50.320 there was just one main road with a strip mall, 127 00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:55.080 series of fast food places and hotels and such. But 128 00:07:55.600 --> 00:07:59.480 this town has grown and it's played a huge role 129 00:07:59.560 --> 00:08:02.960 in the oil boom, which means that there are a 130 00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:06.800 lot of Latinos and Latinas here. And where we are 131 00:08:06.880 --> 00:08:11.240 this morning is in front of this industrial building. It's 132 00:08:11.320 --> 00:08:15.120 kind of nondescript, but we're meeting a young man here. 133 00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:18.640 His name is Andres Murillo. He's twenty years old. 134 00:08:19.160 --> 00:08:22.280 He looks a little bit like a slim and much 135 00:08:22.360 --> 00:08:27.520 younger Michael Moore, and he builds pumps for oil rates. 136 00:08:28.120 --> 00:08:29.160 I'm from California. 137 00:08:29.520 --> 00:08:33.120 I was born over there, but I both my parents 138 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:33.960 are Mexican. 139 00:08:34.400 --> 00:08:37.080 Andres moved to North Dakota three years ago when he 140 00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:38.560 was just seventeen. 141 00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:42.040 Well, my brother was living here at the time, so 142 00:08:42.480 --> 00:08:46.800 I moved over here during my last semester of high school. 143 00:08:47.320 --> 00:08:50.040 And then that's when I went to college right after 144 00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:51.960 that because they gave me a two year scholarship in 145 00:08:52.040 --> 00:08:55.679 Williston State College. And then I kind of dropped out 146 00:08:55.720 --> 00:08:58.400 after that and just kind of jumped from job to job. 147 00:08:58.800 --> 00:09:01.760 I ended up landing this. I'm pretty fairly easy. 148 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:05.240 And it Is, says the money here has been really 149 00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:06.439 good for him. 150 00:09:07.040 --> 00:09:10.480 Like, financially, I'm doing well. I don't feel like I've 151 00:09:10.520 --> 00:09:14.720 been on the verge of not having enough compared to 152 00:09:14.800 --> 00:09:15.280 back home. 153 00:09:15.480 --> 00:09:17.520 Did you feel like your parents were always a little 154 00:09:17.559 --> 00:09:19.760 bit like m it's a little tight. 155 00:09:19.840 --> 00:09:22.800 It's yeah, definitely, you don't feel that here. 156 00:09:22.880 --> 00:09:26.280 I've never felt that way compared to when I would 157 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:29.559 live back home with my parents, they'd have a lot 158 00:09:29.559 --> 00:09:33.360 of money, troubles and their business and whatnot. So I 159 00:09:33.400 --> 00:09:36.640 remember those times, but here it's like it's gone. 160 00:09:37.320 --> 00:09:39.720 What about the fields? Are you interested in going and 161 00:09:39.760 --> 00:09:41.160 working in the fields the oil field? 162 00:09:41.280 --> 00:09:41.520 Yeah? 163 00:09:41.640 --> 00:09:45.120 I actually yeah, I wouldn't mind doing the fields at all. 164 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:47.000 I just got to get a little bit of experience 165 00:09:47.080 --> 00:09:49.280 under my belt before I go ahead and do that. 166 00:09:49.960 --> 00:09:52.400 What's the attraction to going to work in the fields? 167 00:09:52.600 --> 00:09:54.960 Oh, definitely the money, that's it. 168 00:09:55.800 --> 00:09:57.400 What do you know about the money in the fields. 169 00:09:57.440 --> 00:09:58.120 What have you heard? 170 00:09:58.800 --> 00:10:01.440 I've heard people getting paid thirty five an hour and above. 171 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:03.800 They'll work two weeks on, two weeks off, and some 172 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:06.920 people have said they've gotten a grant a six thousand 173 00:10:06.920 --> 00:10:09.160 dollars check in just two weeks. 174 00:10:10.400 --> 00:10:12.199 Let's put that into context. 175 00:10:12.600 --> 00:10:16.520 Workers in the oil extraction business here make over fifty 176 00:10:16.679 --> 00:10:19.920 seven thousand dollars a year on average. That's almost double 177 00:10:20.200 --> 00:10:23.880 than food or service workers. And this tells me that 178 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:27.200 North Dakota has given him the opportunity to be in 179 00:10:27.280 --> 00:10:31.680 a good place financially, and that he, like so many others, 180 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:36.480 are investing in their futures with this extra cash. And 181 00:10:36.520 --> 00:10:39.920 then Andres says, North Dakota has also been a place 182 00:10:40.280 --> 00:10:44.199 where he feels welcomed for his political beliefs. 183 00:10:44.520 --> 00:10:50.600 Well, when I left California, I became Republican, and I 184 00:10:50.679 --> 00:10:52.720 kind of switched over from Liberal because I didn't agree 185 00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:55.880 with most of their ideas. I mean, if you believe 186 00:10:55.880 --> 00:10:58.800 in what you believe in, then hats off to you. 187 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:01.640 Nobody's going to tell you anything. Nobody's going to scream 188 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:04.520 at you for your opinion. I haven't met anybody that's 189 00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:08.160 told me that I'm dumb or that I'm just white 190 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:11.400 because of the party that I'm going with. 191 00:11:11.720 --> 00:11:14.240 Everybody's just been pretty respectful here. 192 00:11:17.880 --> 00:11:20.400 North Dakota is a predominantly red state. 193 00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:24.120 According to a Pew Research poll, almost eighty percent of 194 00:11:24.160 --> 00:11:28.520 adults in the state identify as Republican or lean Republican. 195 00:11:29.320 --> 00:11:30.840 How is it that you become a Republican? 196 00:11:31.400 --> 00:11:33.920 It all started really with the twenty sixteen election. I 197 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:35.720 just kind of didn't agree with some of the stuff 198 00:11:35.800 --> 00:11:38.679 Hillary did. I agreed a little bit more with Donald Trump, 199 00:11:38.880 --> 00:11:40.560 and then over the years I kind of saw what 200 00:11:40.640 --> 00:11:43.440 he was doing and kind of liked it. 201 00:11:44.400 --> 00:11:48.640 During the twenty twenty presidential election, sixty five percent of 202 00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:51.280 North Dakota's voted for Donald J. 203 00:11:51.480 --> 00:11:51.880 Trump. 204 00:11:52.640 --> 00:11:55.679 Trump was big on oil, and he wanted the US 205 00:11:55.800 --> 00:12:00.920 to produce more. He was also pro fracking, a extraction 206 00:12:01.120 --> 00:12:03.199 method that has made the oil boom in. 207 00:12:03.160 --> 00:12:04.559 North Dakota possible. 208 00:12:05.160 --> 00:12:09.480 Trump made US stop in Fargo, North Dakota in twenty eighteen. 209 00:12:10.040 --> 00:12:13.720 So in a few moments, I will sign two groundbreaking 210 00:12:13.840 --> 00:12:17.800 executive owners to continue the revival of the American energy 211 00:12:18.840 --> 00:12:20.439 industry and jobs. 212 00:12:21.240 --> 00:12:25.440 During his presidency, Trump rolled back regulations on the oil 213 00:12:25.480 --> 00:12:29.559 and gas industry and signed executive orders that sped up 214 00:12:29.720 --> 00:12:34.960 drilling projects across the country. Trump rescinded water pollution regulations 215 00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:39.200 for fracking on both Native American and federal lands, and 216 00:12:39.280 --> 00:12:43.080 he limited state's abilities to block oil, gas and other 217 00:12:43.280 --> 00:12:50.960 energy projects. Things haven't changed much under President Joe Biden either, 218 00:12:51.520 --> 00:12:55.600 despite his environmental agenda and his push for green energy. 219 00:12:56.480 --> 00:13:01.200 In fact, the Biden administration has surpassed Trump in issuing 220 00:13:01.480 --> 00:13:05.920 drilling permits on public land. Earlier this year, the administration 221 00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:10.360 also resumed oil drilling on federal land, something Biden said 222 00:13:10.400 --> 00:13:12.839 he wouldn't do while he was on the campaign trail. 223 00:13:13.880 --> 00:13:16.959 But Trump's positions on oil were not the only thing 224 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:19.079 that drew andres. 225 00:13:18.360 --> 00:13:19.240 To support him. 226 00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:23.200 So you believe that there should be a wall built 227 00:13:23.800 --> 00:13:28.160 to keep Mexicans and other Latino and Latino Americans out. 228 00:13:28.400 --> 00:13:31.079 I mean there should be a process. I feel like it. 229 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:34.120 Should be kind of reformed, more so because I have 230 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:38.160 seen that legal process not really work. Sometimes it'll take 231 00:13:38.280 --> 00:13:41.400 years before somebody can even come over from Mexico to 232 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:44.600 the US. I feel like that should be reformed. I 233 00:13:44.640 --> 00:13:47.040 do feel like the wall should be built, but I 234 00:13:47.080 --> 00:13:50.680 also feel like there could be a difference in how 235 00:13:51.800 --> 00:13:54.640 people can get their citizenship here could be. 236 00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:55.160 A lot better. 237 00:13:55.320 --> 00:13:57.160 Your parents came without papers. 238 00:13:57.640 --> 00:14:01.679 Yes, then they became citizens the wall was built. 239 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:04.480 They should not come, is what Basically you're like, Yeah, no, 240 00:14:04.600 --> 00:14:06.600 if the wall should be there, and the wall should 241 00:14:06.679 --> 00:14:10.120 keep people like my parents out who came without papers, 242 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:11.600 they should not have come. 243 00:14:11.760 --> 00:14:12.839 That's kind of how you feel. 244 00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:15.560 Well, if they didn't come here, I probably wouldn't have 245 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:22.080 gone through the experiences, so legally they shouldn't have come, 246 00:14:23.040 --> 00:14:27.960 But I mean they ended up coming anyways, so well, 247 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:28.840 I might to tell love. 248 00:14:29.680 --> 00:14:31.520 But you do see the contradiction, right, I do see 249 00:14:31.520 --> 00:14:32.600 the contradiction there. 250 00:14:33.720 --> 00:14:36.720 And it is believes that the economy was stronger under 251 00:14:36.800 --> 00:14:40.120 Trump and he points out that gas prices and inflation 252 00:14:40.560 --> 00:14:43.520 were lower during his term. He says that if Trump 253 00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:46.360 were to run again for office, he'd still vote for him. 254 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:50.480 He also says he likes Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and 255 00:14:50.640 --> 00:14:53.320 says he'd vote for him if he were to run. 256 00:14:57.440 --> 00:15:01.360 Latinos like Andres who identify as Republicans. 257 00:15:01.080 --> 00:15:02.560 Aren't anything new. 258 00:15:03.400 --> 00:15:06.560 Historically, Republicans have gotten about a third of the Latino 259 00:15:06.640 --> 00:15:09.800 vote since the nineteen seventies, but there has been a 260 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:13.960 shift in recent years arguing that more Latinos are openly 261 00:15:14.040 --> 00:15:19.080 identifying as Republicans, especially with the rise of Donald Trump 262 00:15:19.760 --> 00:15:22.760 and here in North Dakota. A top political issue that 263 00:15:22.880 --> 00:15:26.880 voters care about a lot is the oil and gas industry. 264 00:15:27.560 --> 00:15:31.640 It's something they're Republican governors and senators have campaigned on. 265 00:15:32.240 --> 00:15:35.600 They call for pumping out more oil and natural gas 266 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:39.280 and for rolling back those federal regulations. 267 00:15:39.600 --> 00:15:42.800 The Secretary of State's office protects the security of our elections, 268 00:15:43.320 --> 00:15:45.880 opens the door to every new business, and leads the 269 00:15:45.920 --> 00:15:48.960 way in ensuring our natural resources leap a legacy for 270 00:15:49.040 --> 00:15:50.640 our children and our grandchildren. 271 00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:54.840 This is the voice of Michael Howe. He's the Republican 272 00:15:54.880 --> 00:15:58.520 nominee for a Secretary of State for North Dakota, and 273 00:15:58.680 --> 00:16:01.400 right now he's currently a state representative, but if he 274 00:16:01.520 --> 00:16:04.800 wins the secretary of State position, he will be the 275 00:16:04.800 --> 00:16:09.200 one who is deciding about the elections. And like Trump, 276 00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:14.160 he markets himself as a businessman. How is expected to 277 00:16:14.360 --> 00:16:25.040 easily win his election this November. The hotel lobby where 278 00:16:25.320 --> 00:16:29.160 Renaldo Leanos Junior, my producer, and I are staying in 279 00:16:29.280 --> 00:16:33.560 Central Willisdon it's a little bit empty because it's the 280 00:16:33.600 --> 00:16:38.280 middle of the afternoon here, but in the background they've 281 00:16:38.280 --> 00:16:41.480 got Fox News twenty four to seven. You see a 282 00:16:41.480 --> 00:16:44.560 lot of workers around here, a lot of people who 283 00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:47.720 look like they're involved in the oil business. And in 284 00:16:47.760 --> 00:16:50.520 fact we're here to meet somebody who's part of that business. 285 00:16:51.080 --> 00:16:55.640 Her name is Marinac Carrillo. And she pulls out a 286 00:16:55.680 --> 00:16:58.640 map and she spreads it over a table here, and 287 00:16:59.040 --> 00:17:03.200 she's well terribly excited to show us what's on this map. 288 00:17:03.720 --> 00:17:05.920 So all the light that you see on day on 289 00:17:06.040 --> 00:17:11.440 here are pipelines, but some are by commodity Somasio two. 290 00:17:11.800 --> 00:17:17.760 Someone's a crew oil gas, hydrocarbon, what are a natural gas? 291 00:17:18.119 --> 00:17:22.639 Seeing this map was incredibly revealing to me. The map 292 00:17:22.760 --> 00:17:26.840 displays exactly where different extractions are taking place here in 293 00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:32.200 North Dakota, and well, it's kind of everywhere. I could 294 00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:34.520 just look at this for the longest time because it 295 00:17:34.600 --> 00:17:39.120 really goes to show what is happening mostly underground. I mean, 296 00:17:39.240 --> 00:17:43.360 it's just the part of this land that has not 297 00:17:43.400 --> 00:17:48.960 been touched by oil. You can find that easier than 298 00:17:49.040 --> 00:17:51.080 everything else that has been touched by oil because it's 299 00:17:51.160 --> 00:17:55.560 just covered with like little symbols for some kind of drilling. 300 00:17:56.400 --> 00:17:59.920 The thing is, you don't see what's happening in terms 301 00:17:59.920 --> 00:18:03.400 of the oil because it's happening underground a lot of it. 302 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:07.440 In fact, it's estimated that more than sixteen thousand wells 303 00:18:07.520 --> 00:18:11.080 have been drilled in western North Dakota since the oil 304 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:12.040 booms started. 305 00:18:12.720 --> 00:18:16.480 Where you see more drilling is where the more Hispanics are. 306 00:18:17.160 --> 00:18:22.560 Mariina is petite, She's got dark black curly hair, with 307 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:28.200 a really big smile, and very energetic. She's originally from 308 00:18:28.280 --> 00:18:31.240 Mexico and she's worked in the oil and gas industry 309 00:18:31.320 --> 00:18:35.800 for about seven years. And part of Marina's job is 310 00:18:35.880 --> 00:18:40.639 recruiting people to work in this industry, and most of 311 00:18:40.680 --> 00:18:43.399 those are Latinos and Latinas. 312 00:18:46.320 --> 00:18:50.040 But in recent weeks there's been a workforce problem. The 313 00:18:50.119 --> 00:18:51.000 industry in North. 314 00:18:50.920 --> 00:18:54.719 Dakota has had trouble recruiting people to work, and this 315 00:18:54.800 --> 00:18:58.880 has stalled the deploying of more drilling rigs across the state. 316 00:18:59.520 --> 00:19:03.080 And the thing is is that oil jobs and demographic 317 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:07.359 growth go hand in hand here in North Dakota, and 318 00:19:07.560 --> 00:19:12.040 Marina is part of this changing landscape. But for us, 319 00:19:12.119 --> 00:19:16.000 the best place to see this reality playing out is where. 320 00:19:15.800 --> 00:19:17.840 The oil wells actually are. 321 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:22.480 So coming up on Latino USA, we head to the 322 00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:25.840 rigs with Marina to see how oil and gas are 323 00:19:25.880 --> 00:19:27.160 extracted and. 324 00:19:27.240 --> 00:19:29.080 Also who benefits from it. 325 00:19:30.520 --> 00:20:27.600 Stay with us, notes, Hey, we're back, and when we 326 00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:31.520 left off, we had just met Marina Carrillo. She's a 327 00:20:31.520 --> 00:20:36.560 recruiter for the oil and gas industry. She's originally from Chihuahua, Mexico, 328 00:20:37.280 --> 00:20:40.760 and she's really proud to be working in the oil 329 00:20:40.800 --> 00:20:44.560 and gas industry. So she's going to take us now 330 00:20:44.760 --> 00:20:49.119 on what she calls a job's tour in Williston, and 331 00:20:49.240 --> 00:20:51.840 the plan is for us to see firsthand the many 332 00:20:51.960 --> 00:20:55.159 layers of the oil and gas industry and all of 333 00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:59.479 the different jobs. Latinos and Latinas are performing within this sector. 334 00:21:00.920 --> 00:21:08.800 All right, let's get back to the story. It's a 335 00:21:08.920 --> 00:21:15.760 gorgeous late afternoon in Williston and the sky is bright blue. 336 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:21.000 Producer Renaldos Junior and I find ourselves walking over to 337 00:21:21.119 --> 00:21:26.240 Maddina's big white four by four pickup truck. I pull 338 00:21:26.320 --> 00:21:29.000 myself all the way up to the truck and that's 339 00:21:29.040 --> 00:21:33.320 when we spot something that well, it catches our eyes. 340 00:21:34.600 --> 00:21:36.000 Boy, you really did like Trump. 341 00:21:41.840 --> 00:21:44.280 On the floor in the backseat of her truck is 342 00:21:44.320 --> 00:21:49.159 a big black floor mat. It reads Trump twenty twenty, 343 00:21:49.560 --> 00:21:55.520 Keep America Great. You're not hiding your politics. Wow, Okay, 344 00:21:55.560 --> 00:21:58.680 that's very Interestingana who likes Trump? 345 00:21:59.119 --> 00:21:59.920 See, I can't. 346 00:22:01.200 --> 00:22:08.680 I'm sure might he not identify as a Republican. It's 347 00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:13.040 not clear how many Latinos here in North Dakota actually 348 00:22:13.040 --> 00:22:16.159 identify as Republican, but there has been an increase in 349 00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:19.080 votes for Republican candidates since two thousand and eight. 350 00:22:20.119 --> 00:22:24.439 You are unabashedly a Trump supporter, yes, and you have 351 00:22:24.520 --> 00:22:25.600 no problem. 352 00:22:25.240 --> 00:22:28.720 Being a Mexican born immigrant Trump supporter. 353 00:22:29.640 --> 00:22:31.800 No, No, I don't. I don't have a problem with that. 354 00:22:32.080 --> 00:22:33.920 And that's all because of his position on. 355 00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:39.720 Oil, not just that but I'm one of those persons 356 00:22:39.760 --> 00:22:44.800 that I like things to be said straightforward, and I 357 00:22:44.840 --> 00:22:45.960 don't like politicians. 358 00:22:47.960 --> 00:22:50.600 And you don't think that Trump is a politician. 359 00:22:51.920 --> 00:22:55.000 Not as much. Not as much. He's a business man. 360 00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:57.480 And you think that that helps you in terms of 361 00:22:57.560 --> 00:23:02.040 kind of being in the vibe of North Dakota. The 362 00:23:02.040 --> 00:23:04.880 fact that you're a Trump supporter makes it a little 363 00:23:04.920 --> 00:23:05.560 bit easier. 364 00:23:06.240 --> 00:23:08.560 Maybe if I would have been another place, I would 365 00:23:08.560 --> 00:23:13.720 have been more influenced by other ideologies. But I know 366 00:23:13.920 --> 00:23:17.040 myself as well because my parents were really upset about that. 367 00:23:17.400 --> 00:23:19.399 So your parents were a little freaked out about the 368 00:23:19.400 --> 00:23:20.639 fact that you were supporting Trump. 369 00:23:20.680 --> 00:23:21.600 Is that really yes? 370 00:23:21.720 --> 00:23:25.480 And so after I told them that just take away 371 00:23:25.640 --> 00:23:30.280 the feelings and what you actually think of that emotion, 372 00:23:31.800 --> 00:23:34.399 then you're going to see what I'm seeing. And it 373 00:23:34.440 --> 00:23:36.800 took them a long time, and now then they understand. 374 00:23:37.960 --> 00:23:42.080 We're driving along a main road and we pull off 375 00:23:42.359 --> 00:23:45.640 to the side of the road and there is this 376 00:23:45.800 --> 00:23:49.520 huge towering rig. The metal rig is over one hundred 377 00:23:49.600 --> 00:23:55.480 feet tall. It's got men walking around, there's movement. It 378 00:23:55.640 --> 00:24:00.440 looks big and kind of menacing and kind of hermanent. 379 00:24:01.359 --> 00:24:04.920 And this rig is set up to drill and look 380 00:24:05.040 --> 00:24:09.399 for oil. As many as one million barrels of oil 381 00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:14.000 are being extracted from North Dakota's ground every single day. 382 00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:19.800 The rig shoots up into the clear blue sky. And 383 00:24:19.840 --> 00:24:24.560 there's also this pretty consistent soft hum coming from this rig. 384 00:24:25.119 --> 00:24:29.240 You can hear it in the quiet North Dakota landscape. 385 00:24:29.600 --> 00:24:33.840 Now there's the rig, but there's also portable trailers driving 386 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:37.959 up and down this dirt road. Here, there's other machinery. 387 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:43.159 There's other equipment scattered around. There's a trailer for the workers. 388 00:24:43.680 --> 00:24:46.240 So the people there is working, see their hat hats. 389 00:24:46.640 --> 00:24:47.919 There are the floor hands. 390 00:24:48.680 --> 00:24:53.040 Marina tells us that companies need to follow government requirements 391 00:24:53.040 --> 00:24:56.160 and regulations when they want to search and extract oil 392 00:24:56.200 --> 00:25:01.040 and gas, as well as safety and environmental protocols. Can 393 00:25:01.080 --> 00:25:05.440 I ask you, so I see several men working, about 394 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:06.560 how much are they getting paid? 395 00:25:07.080 --> 00:25:08.159 Just a roundabout? 396 00:25:08.359 --> 00:25:12.520 Well, I think some depends on the company. But there 397 00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:17.159 started about toty on. The toties go to after the 398 00:25:17.280 --> 00:25:21.119 forties or fifties an hour. Most of the companies the 399 00:25:21.240 --> 00:25:24.199 rotations because they do not stop. They were twenty four 400 00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:28.679 to seven, meaning they rotate the crews, so they're on 401 00:25:29.040 --> 00:25:33.040