Surely, the term homeless in the broad sense of the word is often used to characterize the displaced condition of immigrants, particularly in reference to refugees who are forced to flee from their homes to escape persecution. In the context of research, though, and particularly the type of research we engage in which is socio-economic and demographic research, an even stronger linkage between the homeless and immigrants can be made. I will argue first, that such a framework needs to be interrogated if we are to move in new directions and secondly suggest how a model of local community-based research like our own can offer possibilities for this forum on mapping new directions to end homelessness. These two concepts circumscribe the rationalizations for inadequate empirical information about these populations and conversely, also serve as rallying points for those demanding better methods of enumeration and accountability in demographic research. The first concept, invisibility, marks these populations as elusive, hidden, as hard to pinpoint and track.
Invisibility also implies a lack of vision, a blank slate, a state of non-representation.
Yet immigrants for one are far from unseen or invisible despite the lack of sound research. After all, if you look in the paper or watch a TV news broadcast these days, you will likely see plenty of stories about immigration as related to welfare reform, public education, health care policy, crime and a host of other issues. Immigrants have been an increasingly hot topic since California's passage of Prop. 187 in 1994. In fact, one could argue that immigrants are not only seen, they are hyper-visible in current U.S. discourses. This was surely an image engrained in recent social memory, having since Prop.