BUENOS AIRES, July 1 (Xinhua) -- 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 two-day 35th Mercosur Summit in the city of San Miguel de Tucuman at the foot of the Andes gathered presidents from Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela.

    They urged the EU to respect human rights, saying the "return directive" law recently approved by the European Parliament was issued by "nations that were traditionally generators of migration currents."

    South America welcomed with "generosity and solidarity" millions of European migrants in previous centuries," so the EU decision provokes extra anger, the statement said.

    The new EU law tightens its immigration measure, allowing the authorities to detain illegal immigrants for up to 18 months prior to expulsion.

    According to the European Commission, there are up to 8 million illegal migrants in the EU.

    The law, which could come into force in 2010, has drawn widespread and strong criticism from Latin America.

    Bolivian President Evo Morales on Tuesday said he does not "share the idea of our diplomatic men of expressing our 'deep concern' to avoid using harsh words" on the issue.

    When European migrants arrived in America, "they took possession of thousands of hectares of land, mines, natural resources and exploited our people," while on the contrary, the Latin American people in Europe "are not exploiting anyone, (and) they are not taking possession of thousands of hectares of land and mines, they are not destroying the natural resources," Morales said.

    Morales's Chilean counterpart Michelle Bachelet said Latin American leaders "are going to raise a common voice" against the law.

    "We were very generous with the Europeans who arrived in our land in the last century, and the truth is that it is not fair for our people to get a denigrating treatment," Bachelet complained.

    Their stand was echoed by Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez, who said Latin American people "are particularly hurt by the fact that they try to discriminate against us and fail to respect the human rights of Latin Americans who had to go and look for other lands like (the Europeans') grandparents did at other times."

    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.

    "We have to take actions if civilized Europe - I say that ironically - has launched and legalized savagery," said Chavez, who has threatened to stop selling oil to European countries if they apply the law.

    Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has called the EU policy a "shameful directive" that embodies racism and discrimination.

    His Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has regarded the new immigration law as a "cold wind of xenophobia."

    Established in 1991, Mercosur groups Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, while Venezuela signed a membership agreement in 2007 but is yet to finish the whole process to become a full member.

    Its associate members are Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador.