"And what impact is it going to have on morale to stick our troops another desert but this time give them orders not to fire on anyone unless fired upon. Armies are created to kill people and destroy property not guard borders."
Put every recruit out of boot camp on the border for 6 months and let them earn their marksmanship medal, they might not learn to destroy property but the other half of the equation is solved.
Of course the purpose of our army is to protect our borders. To let the enemy march into our country is absurd. And we are facing a new kind of war where the enemy infiltrates our country.
Other countries have had the military on the border -- the former Soviet Union had KGB troops protecting its borders. Koreans have their army protecting their borders.
Sure some illegal aliens might work hard. And so do many of our own criminals -- Dr. Svango was a hard worker and a number other serial killers. This is no excuse to allow illegal aliens to break our laws.