The United States should work to integrate illegal immigrants into the country, Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.) said in a speech today in Gaston Hall criticizing congressional legislation to build a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Richardson said that legislation to build the 700-mile fence, approved overwhelmingly by Congress in September and signed by President Bush, is impractical because it fails to secure the entire border, which is over 2,000 miles long. He called the fence a “waste of taxpayer money,” and said it would reflect poorly on the nation as a whole.

“It’s a terrible symbol of this country,” Richardson said.

Richardson, who was been mentioned as a possible contender for the White House in 2008, outlined his own four-step plan for securing the border and reforming the nation’s immigration laws, calling for better protection of the country’s borders, increasing legal immigration, boosting measures to prevent employers from hiring illegal workers and providing a path to legal citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants residing in the United States.

Richardson, the only Latino governor in the nation, said that after visiting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon two weeks ago, he is confident the two governments can work together to thwart illegal immigration.

“We need to build a special relationship with our neighbor to the south so that we can jointly patrol the border,” Richardson said.

He called upon the new Democratic majorities in Congress to enact his plan.

“We have a historic opportunity to solve a problem that is tearing our country apart,” he said. “We must not miss this chance.”

Richardson also criticized a bill passed by the Republican-led House of Representatives in December 2005, which would have made it a felony to live in the country illegally, saying that many undocumented residents fill valuable roles in the U.S. economy and have assimilated into society.

“Like it or not, these people have become part of the fabric of our economy and our culture,” Richardson said.

The proposal stalled after the Senate passed a bill that provided a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants and the two bodies were unable to resolve their differences.

Richardson said that people will continue to illegally enter the country at historic rates until Congress takes appropriate action. Last summer, he called upon National Guard troops to patrol New Mexico’s 180-mile border with Mexico after declaring a state of emergency in four border counties.

“Illegal immigration has doubled in the past ten years and if it is not addressed it could double again in the next ten years,” he said.

Richardson served seven terms in the House of Representatives before being named U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations by President Clinton (SFS ’68) in 1997. He later served as Secretary of Energy in the Clinton administration, and was first elected governor in 2002, easily winning reelection last month.