Muhil Ravichandran came to the United States legally with her family when she was just a toddler. As an adult, after earning her doctorate from Rutgers University, she secured a job in oncology research — a promising start to her career.  

But because of the U.S.’s broken immigration system, Ravichandran aged out of protection under her family's legal status, Paul Matzko of the Cato Institute writes. Although she was able to secure a student visa during college, her quest for a more permanent solution hit a major roadblock after she didn’t win a coveted high-skilled worker visa through the unwieldy lottery system.  

Now, because of obstacles to staying legally in the U.S., Ravichandran may lose her employment and be forced to return to a country where she did not grow up. That would derail her life — and I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer we keep our cancer researchers. 

Welcome to Thursday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s strategic communications VP, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Alexandra Villarreal, Clara Villatoro and Katie Lutz. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected]. 

‘HIGH-WIRE ACT’ — Senators have started to talk about bipartisan immigration reforms again, Richard Cowan reports for Reuters. No one is denying the degree of difficulty, with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) calling it "a high-wire act" — but also saying it’s "the only path forward." A package of targeted reforms could include border and asylum measures and solutions for Dreamers and farmers, a combination that is hugely popular. 

GUESSWORK – Ahead of the planned end of Title 42 on May 11, migrants are fielding misinformation and confusion about whether they'll fare better if they try to cross the U.S.-Mexico border now or later, Juan Montes and Kejal Vyas report for The Wall Street Journal. "You don’t risk your life in a jungle to just go back," said Anairys Sánchez, a Venezuelan asylum seeker in Panama who is timing her trip to reach the U.S. border as Title 42 expires. In a new analysis, Camilo Montoya-Galvez at CBS News provides a breakdown on where Title 42 stands and what comes next. 

CHURCHES WELCOME REFUGEES – Baptist churches in North Carolina are providing much-needed temporary housing to refugees, Yonat Shimron reports in Religious News Service. Welcome House Community Network Founder Mark Wyatt explains, "Churches have physical property and buildings that are underutilized. Rethinking the use of those buildings for housing is our vision."  The initiative's work augments local efforts to support refugee families. The network is growing as churches in Virginia, Tennessee and Texas are joining the initiative. 

BORDER KINDNESS — As more migrants attempt to cross the U.S. border in increasingly treacherous conditions in the desert, volunteers with a nonprofit called Border Kindness leave food, water and first-aid kits along migrant routes, reports Jasmine Garsd for NPR.    

Thanks for reading, 

Dan