Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

A couple of times in the past decades, presidents Bush and Obama made the symbolic gesture of sending National Guard troops to the Mexican border to help prevent illegal immigration because the numbers are staggering, over 35,000 arrests a month. Trump did it too when news of an “Immigrant Caravan” started hitting the news. He sent 6,000 troops, but it's kind of a voluntary thing on State governor's part; 6 States decided not to send any troops, and 3 States brought their troops home after a few months.

It's not like the soldiers can do much to stop border crossings due Defense Department regulations, they won't even be carrying guns, however, they can probably watch screens and listen for alarms, and they could accompany real border guards as training exercises, then rush in to scare the bejesus out of desperate people who are already apprehensive of soldiers. Fear works. Guys in military garb, wearing sun-glasses and holding machine guns is great theatrics, lots of noise, bad smells, scary closeness; make the women and children cry and the men cower. Described like that, it seems unlikely having troops at the border has any real positive effect, but they do reassure people who want a wall.