The Berlin Wall was a tool for oppression. It prevented people from exercising a very important right — the right to leave. In doing so it also helped ensure continuing abuse of individuals trapped by the wall and armed enforcers. In November of 1989, gates of the wall were opened for passage and people began to demolish the wall.

Move ahead almost thirty years and prominent American politicians are calling for building a wall on American borders. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump regularly promotes building an American wall. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, even boasted in 2013 that an immigration bill he supported would create “the most militarized border since the fall of the Berlin Wall.”

The purpose many politicians offer for the desired American border wall is to block illegal immigration, not to keep people in. But, once built, such a wall can be used as a tool for oppression in a similar manner as was the Berlin Wall in East Germany.

I spoke about this danger in a new interview with host Robert Wenzel on the Robert Wenzel Show. Asked by Wenzel what is my “greatest concern right now as far as the big government growing,” I answered in part with the following comments:

Another thing I find disturbing is the talk about building a wall that Donald Trump talks about. It is something that John McCain and others have been pushing as well. You know, it’s a scary thing when you put a wall up, because a wall won’t just keep people out. It keeps people in as well. So, you combine that with the restrictions on people moving their financial assets and the TSA-type security that you encounter in airports and you have a real restriction on liberty and you prevent the ability of people to escape. People talk about how important it is to vote in elections, but really a more important right is your right to vote with your feet. And putting up walls is a way of preventing people from doing that.

Listen to the complete interview here:

By the way, the interview is not all gloomy. In the wide-ranging discussion you will also hear about my early exploring of libertarian ideas, my experience working for Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) in the House of Representatives, and some of the reasons for optimism I offer in my new book A Tipping Point for Liberty: Exposing and Defeating Leviathan Government.

Reprinted with permission from the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.