Amid much protest, lawmakers for the European Union voted on strict measures to punish undocumented migrant workers on the continent. Under the new guidelines, illegal migrant workers can face detention for up to 18 months and deported, and can be banned from EU territory for five years. The legislature drew much protest from human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, which charged that the vote marked "an erosion of human rights standards" by stripping migrant workers from the protections afford to regular citizens.
See "E.U. Passes Tough Migrant Measure", Caroline Brothers, The New York Times, June 18, 2008