Two years ago, I interviewed North Carolina Republican Congressional candidate Vernon Robinson about his position on illegal immigration.

Robinson told me that Mexicans:

 "All have homes. We need to help them go home."

Sadly, Robinson didn't win his Congressional bid. But his remark is worthy of revisiting because of the constant implications by the MSM and pro-illegal alien lobbyists that returning Mexicans to Mexico is cruel and unusual punishment.

That's a fascinating analysis when you think about it. Normally, "going home" is synonymous with all things good.

A lexicographer's society once concluded that along with "mother" and "love," "home" is one of the most comforting English words.

Look at American song and literature: "I'll Be Home for Christmas," "Home on the Range," "My Old Kentucky Home," "Look Homeward, Angel," "North Toward Home."

People feel better just reading the titles.

Why then does suggesting that Mexicans return home create such resistance?

Outside of the fact that wages are higher in the US, Mexico doesn't sound like such a bad place…at least not after reading the Mexico Tourism website about

"Northern Mexico, the thrill next door."

"Infinity begins at a horizon line, joining the heavens and the desert in one great extension that invites us to discover Mexico's mystery with an endless of enticing adventures.

From magnificent beaches to breathtaking canyons, desert and mountains views, the vast region is one of unsurpassed scenic beauty. Colonial Towns and prehistoric cave paintings are a reminder of Mexico's rich past while gleaming cities are a testament to the nation's vibrant contemporary culture."

The beaches are more inviting:

"The beaches of México go on for over 9,660 kilometres. If México is a treasure of breathtaking vistas and beautiful places, the crown jewels must surely be our beaches. The visitor will find white sands and turquoise waters surrounding our Caribbean islands and beaches in Cancún, Isla Mujeres (Women Island) and Cozumel, in the State of Quintana Roo. To the west are the secluded coves and palm-lined stretches along the Pacific coast with places like Acapulco, Huatulco, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Manzanillo, Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta. Beyond them lies the stark, almost surreal contrast of land and sea found on the Baja California Península, with beaches in La Paz, Loreto and Los Cabos."

And the eco-system:

"México is home of nearly 30,000 species of flowering plants, including a thousand species of orchids and a thousand species of birds, including fifty species of hummingbirds alone. In the past, one might have planned vacations from the viewpoint of trying to get away from it all, but this time the visitor may be ready to step away from the man made, and step into a world of more natural wonders in Baja California and the Sea of Cortés, the Copper Canyon, Sian Ka'an Biosphere, Cozumel, Xel Ha or Xcaret, an ecological area near Cancún billed as 'nature's sacred paradise', with underwater caverns, tropical lagoons and channels for excellent snorkeling."

Illegal aliens don't want to return to "paradise"? They prefer instead to work in an Arkansas poultry plant in substandard conditions at slave wages?

I'm confused. Even allowing for tourism hype, I can't quarrel with Mexico's self description.

I've traveled to Mexico and to Arkansas. If I were a Mexican, I'd want to go home.

Among most Mexicans I know, home is where the heart is…they live in the U.S. but their souls remain in Mexico. [Vdare.com note: Sam Francis wrote in 2003 that Mexican immigrants frequently had their bodies sent home for burial.]

Mexican traditions, holidays and customs are alive and widely celebrated among my students.

If Mexicans are asked about returning, their normal reply is that "there's nothing for me there."

But like so many trite statements that are repeated until automatically accepted as truth, Mexico is not a barren economic wasteland.

Mexico has the world's ninth largest economy. And as Steve Sailer pointed out in his recent blog, "five billion people live in countries with lower per capita GDP than Mexico."

Last weekend, I exchanged thoughts about "going home" with two of the keenest minds in immigration reform, Brenda Walker and Roy Beck.

Roy's view:

"Home is actually a place of some sentiment and that other than the fact that the person makes less money in Mexico, there is a lot about the culture, except for the government, that is pretty good. That's what all the news stories say when they follow these illegals back to Latin America and report on how much nicer their culture is than ours.

But for the aliens the question is 'Do you think that Mexico is evil and dysfunctional and that being sent back is tantamount to persecution?'

A person should admit is that going back is not the cruelest thing in the world.

It seems to me that implicit in these cries of how terrible it would be to go home is that their culture is retrograde. I wonder if they really want to tout that in public."

And Brenda posed this question: "Why are millions fleeing a rich nation?"

Her answer: "America's immigration permissiveness that prevents long overdue economic and social reforms in Mexico."

I realize that "going home" is not a concept that will be embraced immediately.

After all, my VDARE.COM colleagues and I have written extensively about Mexico's pitfalls.

But I believe that illegal aliens living in America can go home to fight for a better Mexico by summoning up the courage they draw upon when they cross the border, the cunning they deploy when they arrange for false documents, the guile they use when they learn how to milk our system and the tenacity they display when they march in the streets for " justice."

Imagine the impact 20 million determined Mexicans could have on their country's future.

To the alien population in the United States, let it be known that for now and forever more VDARE.COM—who you previously perceived as your enemy—is, in fact, your staunch ally in helping you fulfill one of life's noblest quests: to go home.

Joe Guzzardi [email him], an instructor in English at the Lodi Adult School, has been writing a weekly newspaper column since 1988. This column is exclusive to VDARE.COM.