Apparently the U.S. isn't alone in shamefully detaining suspected immigration policy violators.

Latin American leaders on Tuesday voiced their "deep rejection" of the immigration policy adopted recently by the European Union (EU).

Presidents of the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) "member states and associate states reject any attempt to criminalize the irregular migration and the adoption of restrictive immigration policies, in particular against the most vulnerable sectors of society, namely, women and children," said a statement at issued Mercosur summit.

The EU policy goes into effect in 2010 and allows authorities to detain improperly or undocumented immigrants for up to 18 months before deporting them.[More...]

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner considered the new measure unacceptable which "takes us back to times of xenophobia that we thought were long behind us."

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez compared the policy to the barrier being built by the United States along its southern border with Mexico, a "shameful" move as he called it. Perhaps Europeans want to follow the example of the United States and build a wall in the Atlantic Ocean," Chavez said.

A wall in the Atlantic Ocean...what a great image to show the absurdity of border fences.