Curbing illegal immigration is a complex issue that will not be solved with a fence alone, said Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico.

“No fence ever built has stopped history and this one wouldn’t either,” he said, adding that it “flies in the face of as a symbol of freedom.”

Richardson, who will begin his second term as governor in January, addressed the issues of illegal immigration during a policy speech hosted by the Institute for International Law and Politics in Gaston Hall on Dec. 7.

“Eleven million people living in the shadows is a huge problem, the United States needs to solve the problem, not tear itself apart over it,” said Richardson, who formerly served as a congressmen, cabinet secretary and ambassador to the United Nations.

Richardson suggested four steps toward tackling the immigration issue: securing the border, encouraging legal immigration, preventing employers from hiring illegal employees and providing a path to legalization for the millions of illegal immigrants already in the United States.

“I have spent a lot of time at the border and I know we cannot secure it with a fence, but we can secure it with enough trained border patrol officers,” Richardson said.

Until those officers can be trained, National Guard troops should be sent to the border, he said, adding that better surveillance equipment and cooperation with the Mexican government is also necessary.

“Illegal immigration is, at its root, primarily an economic problem,” he said. “It is a safety valve for their unemployed and a major source of revenue in their economy from the money illegal workers here send home.”

But like or not, immigrants are here, he said, and the could not simply deport 11 million people.

“Our economy could not stand the shock of losing all these workers,” Richardson said, “and our national conscience would not countenance arresting millions of men, women and children. We did this to Japanese Americans in 1942, and we rightfully regret that abandonment of basic American decency.”

He also highlighted the estimated 3 million children born to illegal immigrants who, under the U.S. Constitution, are citizens.

“If we required their parents to leave what would become of the minor children?” he asked, “Would they be made wards of the state somehow? They cannot be required to leave along with their parents.”

To keep families together, the should double the number of family visas, from 480,000 to 960,000, he suggested.

Richardson also discussed ways to encourage legal immigration through a guest worker program. He supports legislation passed by the Senate this year that would have guest workers pay application fees, undergo medical exams and background checks, learn English and abide by other guidelines.

“If they meet all these requirements, we should say ‘Welcome to the United States. You’re now a legal worker,” he said. “With instantaneous worker verification in place, we’ll be able to do it.”