President Donald Trump has painted a bleak picture of life on the U.S.-Mexico border as a land overrun with human traffickers, drug smugglers, rapists and blood-thirsty gang members.

But a Republican congressman from Texas says Trump's characterization of a border crisis is a "myth" and the idea of a wall is a "third-century solution to a 21st-century problem."

Rep. Will Hurd, 41, told Rolling Stone that "when you think of a crisis, that means people are afraid to leave their homes, right?"

But "El Paso is one of the safest cities in the United States of America. The same can be said about Del Rio, Presidio and Eagle Pass, places I represent," the former CIA officer said.

Hurd, who narrowly won re-election in the recent midterms, also criticized Trump for using a partial government shutdown that affects the Department of Homeland Security as leverage to secure funding for a barrier on the southern border.

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"If there is a crisis, why are the people that are dealing with it not being paid?" he asked Rolling Stone.

Hurd, who represents a district he says includes 820 miles of the roughly 1,900-mile border with Mexico, has voted with House Democrats on legislation to reopen the government that does not include wall funding. He said a barrier only makes sense in places where there is "urban-to-urban contact" like there is between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

Instead, he proposes increasing security at points of entry, where the bulk of illegal drugs come into the U.S., improved technology along the border to create a "smart fence" and a "Marshall Plan for Central America" to address the root problems that are leading so many migrants to make the dangerous journey north.

"It’s a big package, but it’s also what is needed in order to make sure our country is safe," he said.