As reactions to President Obama’s upcoming executive action continue to swirl, it’s becoming clear that most Republicans — and some Democrats — have no clue why executive action (and immigration reform) is so necessary, and why advocates are fighting tooth and nail for it.

Right-wingers have convinced themselves that advocates are in it for the open borders and the Democratic voters.  But this read at Think Progress is a window into why advocates push for immigration reform and executive action, and why we’ve felt every delay on each so acutely.

Entitled “The Most Heartbreaking Place in America is Called ‘Friendship Park,’ the Think Progress piece is about a section of the border fence near Tijuana where separated family members can meet to talk to each other through a fence grating barely large enough to poke fingertips through.  Mothers, fathers, spouses, and children on both sides sometimes drive for hours to make it to the fence, which is only open from 10 am to 2 pm each Saturday and Sunday.  Worship services are held on both sides, in English and Spanish, with communion held on each side.

Had the Senate immigration bill been passed into law, some of these families might have eventually been reunited.  As it is, every day without immigration reform or executive relief guarantees that more families will be separated, and forced onto opposite sides of that fence.

The whole Think Progress piece is worth a read.  View it here.