So far you seem to be a pessimistic outlier without solutions. This attitude is easily exploited by authoritarians.
They wouldn't defend anyone if coopted well enough.
Attribute virtue, even more so Democratic virtue to such a huge chunk of population sounds extremely naive.
You’re off in the rhubarb hallucinating about “Democratic virtue” which is a meaningless term and unrelated to a Republic based on laws.
They are much more likely to become authoritarian than to defend you from them :) May I remind you they are currently building a wall on the border and keeping children in concentration camps?
You simply don’t know Republicans. If any are on this site they are chuckling at your comment.
I digress. You seem interested in the southern border. The wall is currently made of tens of thousands of Mexican soldiers. Border walls are normal all around the world because they work.
As for children in Obama cages, everyone agrees this is wrong. This is why a wall is so important - there won’t be any illegal crossers to detain.