Yet, the emptying island, is not only about removing bodies from the island. It is also closely linked to a second process that often occurs first: separating people from their homes. According to a 2018 Center for Puerto Rican Studies report, one out of five homes in Puerto Rico is currently empty, mostly in the capital of San Juan, and thousands have been foreclosed (El nuevo día 2018). This is consistent with prior studies that suggest that, as of 2015, “nine families lose their homes every day due to foreclosure” and the number of homeless people increased by 35% during this period (Román 2018, 37). In the words of political ecologist Gustavo García López (2017), “One of the outcomes of this [crisis] has been an emptying of prime, centrally located urban land. This, in turn, has created ‘opportunities’ for a third type of finance-driven predatory operation: shell (ghost) companies investing in real estate for ‘luxury developments.’”