Don't Deport Them. Lock Them Up. It's Better for the Economy.

Of course I don't think we should be deporting anybody, but after reading this story you have to wonder if some of those calling for stricter enforcement along the border really just want to create circumstances that boost the criminal justice industries.

Willacy County Judge Simon Salinas cheered the 500-bed lockup cited by Bush, a "fast-track" project opened Tuesday by Management and Training Corp. that will grow next month to 2,000 beds.

"You talk about economic development, this is it," he said, noting the county's initial cut is $2.25 a day, per occupied bed.

Salinas predicted annual county income from the facility eventually would hit $10 million. The finished $64.8 million facility will feature 10 pod-like domes, built on concrete floors and made of synthetic fabric, each with 200 beds.

It is intended as a deportation center for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which since July has added 1,500 jail beds nationwide, for a total of 22,800.

What will the county do when/if immigration becomes less of a problem in the future?