WEBVTT - Investing in Ghana: The Pros and Cons Explained

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<v Speaker 1>National Association Member FDIC erness What's Up? You ever walk

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<v Speaker 2>My personal last question is about Ghana. We've been spending

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of time and Ghana. He was there in December,

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<v Speaker 2>We were back there a few weeks ago, so, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>just learning the in and outs of the culture. I've

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<v Speaker 2>learned enough to understand that I think you probably were

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<v Speaker 2>born on Friday, right, Yeah.

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<v Speaker 3>That took that took you. That's no fair you went.

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<v Speaker 3>How many times did you go there to find that out?

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<v Speaker 1>Only took once.

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<v Speaker 3>There you go?

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<v Speaker 4>But exactly right.

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<v Speaker 2>One of the things that you know we saw, obviously

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<v Speaker 2>is the development right, so many different apartment buildings being developed,

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<v Speaker 2>and there's such a strong interest from the diaspora, especially America,

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<v Speaker 2>people coming there, people you know, coming during December, but

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<v Speaker 2>people also relocating. We met a bunch of business owners

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<v Speaker 2>that moved from America that started restaurants, that started different

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<v Speaker 2>types of businesses. And now there's the residence of of Ghana.

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<v Speaker 2>What's your thought process on Ghana currently in twenty twenty four, Like,

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<v Speaker 2>what are you optimistic about?

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<v Speaker 3>What?

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<v Speaker 4>You have?

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<v Speaker 2>Some concerns about you as somebody that's you know, you've

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<v Speaker 2>seen it from where it was to where it's at now,

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<v Speaker 2>which I'm just curious to know what your thought process is.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, well, always start with a positive right, I think.

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<v Speaker 3>The the there's.

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<v Speaker 4>Tremendous interest and positive interest in in in Africa as

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<v Speaker 4>a whole, but specifically in Ghana, and that interest is

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<v Speaker 4>driving some curiosity, enough curiosity for folks to get on

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<v Speaker 4>a plane and visit it. And often when they visit,

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<v Speaker 4>they are enthralled by the people in the culture to

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<v Speaker 4>the point where there is consideration for investment and and

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<v Speaker 4>Ghana needs a lot of foreign directed investment, and so

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<v Speaker 4>folks of their own accourt bringing their capital and their

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<v Speaker 4>ideas to invest in the country is UH is tremendous.

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<v Speaker 4>Tremendous because that obviously boost the economy and most importantly

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<v Speaker 4>creates jobs. I am optimistic that the that.

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<v Speaker 3>The education educational structure.

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<v Speaker 4>Continues to really bring forward some really smart individuals, entrepreneurial

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<v Speaker 4>individuals that have been able to sustain the country for

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<v Speaker 4>a while.

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<v Speaker 3>And however, unfortunately they are so good at what they do.

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<v Speaker 4>Perhaps they are drawn away by the fact that they

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<v Speaker 4>are so good at what they do that they there

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<v Speaker 4>is significant brain drain going on. A significant amount of

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<v Speaker 4>the health professionals in Ghana are trained in Ghana and

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<v Speaker 4>then they leave, and that's concerning but somewhat understandable. I'm

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<v Speaker 4>pessimistic because the fundamental infrastructure of the company requires a

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<v Speaker 4>great deal of work, and that I mean the social infrastructure,

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<v Speaker 4>while strengthen through the through the traditional heritage and culture,

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<v Speaker 4>is weak when it comes through the sort of the

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<v Speaker 4>social service networks and people are exposed. As the global economy,

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<v Speaker 4>UH what's suffered over the last several years, these fragile

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<v Speaker 4>economies in the Third World really took a significant hit,

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<v Speaker 4>and that hit has a horrible, horrible residual effect on

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<v Speaker 4>the folks at the bottom of the scale, who are

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<v Speaker 4>who are having to work three times it's hard just

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<v Speaker 4>to get frankly, the same amount of income, and that

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<v Speaker 4>is unhealthy. I I and therefore I worry that the

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<v Speaker 4>have the gap between the haves and the have nots,

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<v Speaker 4>only increases, And my fear is that the governmental institutions

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<v Speaker 4>haven't built enough bridges, and in fact it's so focused

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<v Speaker 4>on sort of top line growth in terms of attracting

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<v Speaker 4>more investment for and directed investments, you know, tourism, etc.

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<v Speaker 4>Without necessarily finding ways to shore up the fundamental infrastructure

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<v Speaker 4>of the economy, either by building those infrastructural pieces that

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<v Speaker 4>would help transport or could create much more of an

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<v Speaker 4>industrial base in the country. We're still exporting you're taking

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<v Speaker 4>it out of the ground and exporting it via either

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<v Speaker 4>coco or gold right exporting it for the most part,

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<v Speaker 4>and subjecting it to the world market prices.

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<v Speaker 3>After fifty sixty years, we're still essentially.

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<v Speaker 4>Doing the same things we did many many years ago

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<v Speaker 4>or decades ago, and that's not sustainable. So I worry

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<v Speaker 4>that the gaps between the haves and the have nots

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<v Speaker 4>only increases, and we're still somewhat in a subsidized era,

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<v Speaker 4>and I'm terrified of the World Bank and IMF policies

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<v Speaker 4>and what they ultimately might do to the country.

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<v Speaker 1>My final question, Kobe is and thank you again for

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<v Speaker 1>joining us, is I heard you say we have to

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<v Speaker 1>focus on how cities work. And I thought that's very interesting, right,

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<v Speaker 1>because most people don't look at it from that perspective.

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<v Speaker 1>How does the city work? Where does it get revenue from?

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<v Speaker 1>And so when I think Detroit and I'm thinking sports,

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<v Speaker 1>I want to talk about the intentionality. Right, if we

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<v Speaker 1>look at from the landscape of their sports franchises, they've

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<v Speaker 1>all moved downtown right where you had you had the

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<v Speaker 1>Pontiac Dome. Now you have Ford Field, which is downtown.

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<v Speaker 1>You had the Tiger Stadium, and now you have America Field.

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<v Speaker 1>You have the Palace where the Pistons played. Now you

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<v Speaker 1>have Little Caesars where the Pistons and the Red Wings play.

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<v Speaker 1>And so I would imagine the revenue that's brought in

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<v Speaker 1>from having people come in, the tourists that come in, right,

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<v Speaker 1>and the taxes that come from that. How important is

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<v Speaker 1>it to have sent like a focused effort to have

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<v Speaker 1>something concentrated where rather than have different counties and different

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<v Speaker 1>towns collecting the taxes, having something central to where downtown

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<v Speaker 1>is obviously being a thriving part of a city, it.

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<v Speaker 5>Is critically important when as you're trying to build up

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<v Speaker 5>an economy, you want every dollar to go round and

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<v Speaker 5>around around in that in a concentrated manner and create

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<v Speaker 5>a virtuous cycle of investment.

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<v Speaker 4>And so these sports teams being down, the sports teams

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<v Speaker 4>downtown create a year long event for one of a

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<v Speaker 4>better term right event in that uh, the Red Wings

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<v Speaker 4>out playing, the Pistons are playing, its pst are playing,

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<v Speaker 4>the Tigers are playing, and then the Lions are playing,

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<v Speaker 4>and that brings people who wouldn't normally come downtown to

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<v Speaker 4>come downtown. When they come downtown, they park, they may

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<v Speaker 4>grab a bite, and that dollar they bring just sustain

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<v Speaker 4>help sustain the economy. It's critically important because those dollars,

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<v Speaker 4>that that density of investment, that density of expenditure, is

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<v Speaker 4>what you use to convince the next business to come

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<v Speaker 4>into the area, because then you can say, look how

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<v Speaker 4>many people come down on a regular basis, and then

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<v Speaker 4>that particular entity you're trying to attract will indeed say, well,

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<v Speaker 4>if those are the numbers that are coming downtown, and

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<v Speaker 4>I can get x percent of that by virtue of

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<v Speaker 4>the business dim in I will make that choice to

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<v Speaker 4>come downtown and fill yet another vacant spot, and that

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<v Speaker 4>person will then attract its own people, and so it

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<v Speaker 4>goes on and on and on.

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<v Speaker 6>But it's very it has to be very intentional, and

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<v Speaker 6>in addition to just that process, you also have to

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<v Speaker 6>create these larger, perhaps seminal events that sort of break

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<v Speaker 6>through the fog of what people might think a city

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<v Speaker 6>might be, like a Grand Prix that everybody will now

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<v Speaker 6>see Detroit and this splendor on their TV sets, like

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<v Speaker 6>the draft, the NFL Draft and eight hundred thousand people

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<v Speaker 6>coming downtown with fifty three million eyeballs looking at Detroit

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<v Speaker 6>perhaps for the first time, thinking wow, that's a beautiful

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<v Speaker 6>looking city and recognizing that it's nothing like they thought.

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<v Speaker 6>And I think the critical word you use there is

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<v Speaker 6>the intentionality behind it.

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<v Speaker 3>It's not formulaic, but it's intentional, and.

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<v Speaker 4>It is critical for us to ensure that people are

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<v Speaker 4>coming downtown or coming to Detroit and having a great

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<v Speaker 4>experience in Detroit, because when they take the word back

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<v Speaker 4>either to their employers or their families, perhaps it just

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<v Speaker 4>changes that perception. And when it changes that perception, they

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<v Speaker 4>might make a decision that they wouldn't normally wouldn't maybe

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<v Speaker 4>have made a month prior that they would add Detroit

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<v Speaker 4>to their list, perhaps to come see the Motown Museum

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<v Speaker 4>or the Detroit Institute of Arts, which is a fabulous museum.

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<v Speaker 4>They just added to their list. And that's just one

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<v Speaker 4>more person that you have the ability to win over,

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<v Speaker 4>one more person that comes in and spends some money

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<v Speaker 4>in a downtown area and therefore provide some opportunity for

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<v Speaker 4>a local retailer or business to.

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<v Speaker 3>Transact business.

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<v Speaker 4>And the more all of that happens, the easier it

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<v Speaker 4>is for us to go talk to a business and

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<v Speaker 4>we ask them to come locate downtown, because we can

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<v Speaker 4>then assure them that when they are downtown, their employees

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<v Speaker 4>will enjoy being downtown because downtown is active, is amenditized,

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<v Speaker 4>and has those kinds of family friendly activities that they

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<v Speaker 4>would look for in any thriving major city. And he frankly,

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<v Speaker 4>may dare I say world class city. And that's why

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<v Speaker 4>it's so important to be intentional about bringing these essential

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<v Speaker 4>components together.

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<v Speaker 7>An illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping a child

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<v Speaker 7>in Massachusetts. An MS thirteen gang member from Al Salvador

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<v Speaker 7>accused of murdering a Texas man of Venezuelan charged with

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<v Speaker 7>filming and selling child pornography in Michigan. These are just

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<v Speaker 7>some of the heinous migrant criminals caught because of President

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<v Speaker 7>Donald J. Trump's leadership. I'm Christineoman, the United States Secretary

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<v Speaker 7>of Homeland Secure. Under President Trump, attempted illegal border crossings

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<v Speaker 7>are at the lowest levels ever recorded, and over one

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<v Speaker 7>hundred thousand illegal aliens have been arrested. If you are

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<v Speaker 7>here illegally, your next you will be fine nearly one

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<v Speaker 7>thousand dollars a day, imprisoned and deported. You will never return.

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<v Speaker 7>But if you register using our CBP home app and

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<v Speaker 7>leave now, you could be allowed to return legally. Do

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<v Speaker 7>what's right. Leave now. Under President Trump, America's laws, border

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<v Speaker 7>and families will be protected.

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<v Speaker 3>Sponsored by the United States Department of Homeland Security,