Property and Politics in Today's America

Property rights is a growing issue hiding in plain sight—not just in developing countries, but across the United States as well. Consider:

• Following Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, 60% of FEMA aid claims were rejected primarily because applicants could not prove they owned their homes.
• President Trump is threatening to take the land of thousands of Americans to build a wall along the southern border.
• Outdoor apparel companies have jumped into the fray alongside indigenous groups and activists to fight the federal government over the shrinking of public land and national monuments.
• Last month, the Supreme Court ruled to limit civil asset forfeiture, a controversial practice that allows police to seize private property they believe is connected to a crime.

Please join the Future of Property Rights Program at New America, the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, and the leaders working at the forefront of these issues for an afternoon of drinks and discussion.

Beer, wine, and light snacks will be served.

AGENDA

1:30 PM- 2:00 PM: Registration and Refreshments

2:00 PM - 2:30 PM: Patagonia and the Fight Over Public Lands 

Avi Garbow
Environmental Advocate, Patagonia

Thomas Burr
Washington Bureau Chief, The Salt Lake Tribune

2:30 PM - 3:00 PM: On the Border: Trump's Wall vs. La Lomita Chapel 

Mary McCord
Senior Litigator, Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection
Georgetown Law School

Yuliya Panfil
Director, Future of Property Rights Program at New America

3:00 PM - 3:30 PM: A Range Rover Drives Civil Asset Forfeiture to the Supreme Court

Sam Gedge
Counsel for Institute for Justice in Timbs v. Indiana, Supreme Court of the United State

William Freivogel
Professor of Journalism, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
Civil Asset Forfeiture Project, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting

3:30 PM - 4:00 PM: The Fight for Housing Funds in Post-Hurricane Puerto Rico

Adi Martínez Román
Executive Director, Fundación Fondo de Acceso a la Justicia
Puerto Rico

Isabel Sophia Dieppa
Reporter
Property Rights in Post-Hurricane Puerto Rico Project, Pulitzer Center

Follow the conversation online using #USPropertyRights and by following @NewAmericaFPR.