Europe is buzzing with praise and criticism for Italian president Silvio Berlusconi’s [pictured] tough (read xenophobic) approach to immigration legislation.

According to the president’s new stance, being an undocumented immigrant in Italy will become a crime, punishable by up to 18 months in a detention center. In addition, local authorities will have the right to detain and order the expulsion of undocumented immigrants. Families petitioning the Italian government for visas based on reunification will have to submit to DNA testing. Renting an apartment to an undocumented immigrant will also become a crime, punishable by up to 4 years in prison, plus a fine of 50,000 euros. Oh, and they’ll confiscate the apartment.

That’s not all. If you are undocumented and you commit a crime, your sentence will be increased by 1/3 more than if you are Italian. That means if you are sentenced to 3 years in prison, tack on another if you are undocumented.

In response to these propositions — now approved by the Italian government — a few hundred protesters gathered in Napoles, where Berlusconi was at an event, shouting “No racism, no intolerance, equality!”, reports Spain’s El País.

Reading this got me thinking: could this happen in the U.S.? There certainly are bills which are moving our immigration legislation in this direction, but is a complete immigration overhaul of this magnitude possible in the U.S.? That’s a pretty scary thought.

Also scary is the rhetoric that Berlusconi is spouting. Rather than sounding like a head of state, he sounds more like Lou Dobbs. No wait, he makes Lou Dobbs sound like a bleeding heart: “A more secure Italy, more tranquil and more serene. With a homogenous culture as foundation for its political actions, Italy will become stronger, more credible and more convincing towards Europe.”

Not so fast, Mr. Fascist. The European Union in its majority considers this type of stance as unacceptable. That’s why it’s so hard to agree on EU-wide immigration legislation, which is what is currently being duked out in Brussels.

Spain — arguably one of the most lenient European countries with regard to immigration — for one is not having it. Today the Spanish Secretary of State expressed the country’s “rejection” of Italy’s stance, stating that it does not contribute to the common European policy, and that immigration issues should be “a dialogue, and reflected upon.”

Via / El Pais and La Vanguardia (Spain)

Image: Berlusconi crony with a sign blaming former president Prodi for “Immigration and Violence”