People would say you look weak if you're not cursing the opposition and driving around in a big black car while always wearing a tie. Above all to be 'strong' you're always supposed to be giving orders.
Secure our borders first. Let us know and let us make sure the American people know that we're taking care of the important business of dealing with the illegal immigration into this country. You cannot begin to address the concerns of the people who are already here unless and until you have made certain that no more are coming in behind them.
Perhaps the single most dramatic example of this phenomenon of software eating a traditional business is the suicide of Borders and corresponding rise of Amazon.
Punishment may make us obey the orders we are given but at best it will only teach an obedience to authority not a self-control which enhances our self-respect.
You can either invade a country or leave them alone and trade with them. When goods cross borders armies don't.
Information is the oxygen of the modern age. It seeps through the walls topped by barbed wire it wafts across the electrified borders.