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Years ago, when the topic of a wall was initially brought up, first by Bill Clinton in the 1990s, many were skeptical of a southern border apparatus being constructed. When the issue started to gain traction in the mid-2000s, people were still cynical. Today, the concept of a border wall generates fierce opinions on both sides of the aisle; their stance, however, will shift based on who’s in power or not.

One consistent critic of the wall has been former Texas Republican Congressman and three-time presidential candidate Ron Paul. He has regularly made the case that a wall may be established to keep people out, but what happens when the wall is used to keep people from leaving?

Writing in an op-ed on Monday entitled “A Better Solution Than Trump’s Border Wall,” Dr. Paul went into detail about his opposition to a wall. He averred that the wall will not work, it will be too expensive and it ignores the real causes of illegal crossings.

Paul’s critics will likely then ask: how do you solve illegal immigration? It’s simple: end the wars in the Middle East, end the drug war and end the welfare system.

“The various taxpayer-funded programs that benefit illegal immigrants in the United States, such as direct financial transfers, medical benefits, food assistance, and education, cost an estimated $100 billion dollars per year,” Paul explained. “That is a significant burden on citizens and legal residents. The promise of free money, free food, free education, and free medical care if you cross the border illegally is a powerful incentive for people to do so. It especially makes no sense for the United States government to provide these services to those who are not in the US legally.”

He further stated that the four-decade war on drugs hasn’t helped anyone. The U.S. government has spent more than $1 trillion on this lost battle, and it isn’t getting any better. Ultimately, says Paul, the war on drugs incentivizes illegal smuggling so the easy solution is to decriminalize marijuana.

The bestselling author added that it is important to understand why terrorists, who could cross into the U.S. form Mexico, want to seek harm against the U.S. The simple answer to that is the fact that the U.S. has been bombing that region since 1990, and former President Barack Obama dropped 26,000 bombs in the area in 2016 alone. With blood being shed and the “grand U.S. plan” producing even more terrorism, Paul wants the U.S. to end this “senseless intervention.”

“I believe it is important for the United States to have secure borders, but unfortunately President Trump’s plan to build a wall will end up costing a fortune while ignoring the real problem of why people cross the borders illegally. They will keep coming as long as those incentives remain,” he concluded.

What is interesting is that you won’t come across these arguments from either side of the aisle. One wants more welfare, one wants more war. What do you get? More war and more welfare.

There you have it, Donald Trump, you can solve the border issue by following the advice of Ron Paul.