THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

Whatever you may think of Richard Lovelace's romantic nonsense, iron bars have been known to make pretty darn good cages. And in our modern world they also make pretty good profits.

Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and GEO Group, which have profited heavily from contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to lock up undocumented immigrants - including mothers and children seeking asylum from Central American countries - are predicting more such contracts at the state and federal level in 2015.

In a recent conference call for shareholders and investors, GEO Group reported fourth quarter 2014 net income earnings of $38.1 million, up from $27.6 million in 2013, and while CCA's profits dropped, from $47.47 million last year to a reported $30.01 million in fourth quarter earnings this year, both companies are expecting increased profits in 2015 as for-profit immigrant jails expand across South Texas and nationally.

During the call, CCA officials noted that its new immigrant family jail in Dilley, Texas, has already generated more than $21 million in revenue in the last quarter of 2014. The jail is expected to officially become the nation's largest immigrant detention facility, as the population is anticipated to swell to fill its 2,400-bed capacity this spring - up from its current 480-bed capacity. As a result, in coming months, advocates expect detainees' access to legal counsel to become even more limited than it is currently.

GEO Group also reported, during the call, that its $36 million expansion of the immigrant family jail at Karnes County to a capacity of 1,158 beds would earn the company $21 million in 2015.

Mind you, these are your tax dollars being funneled into corporate profits. And a goodly portion of that profit comes from operating those detention centers at less than Bureau of Prison standards and with minimum wager help. Proud to be an American, yet?