United States: President Donald Trump announced Sunday his plan to instruct the Federal Bureau of Prisons to reconstruct and reopen the notorious Alcatraz prison located in the San Francisco Bay for “America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders.”
Trump Calls for Alcatraz Revival
“REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ!” he posted on the Truth Social platform. “When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals and keep them far away from anyone they could harm.”
The notorious U.S. criminal Al Capone was a detainee at the federal prison at Alcatraz which ended operations in 1963. Tourists make the Alcatraz facility one of San Francisco’s most visited attractions, as reported by Reuters.
NEW: Trump is ordering the reopening of the notorious Alcatraz prison.
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) May 5, 2025
Trump intends to restore the prison in order to detain violent offenders and criminal aliens.
Do you agree with the president reopening the prison? pic.twitter.com/jqwhRXT1d6
“Today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ,” Trump wrote.
“Symbol of Law and Order”
Trump disclosed his decision to bring back the prison facility through casual remarks to journalists after returning to the White House from Florida.
“It’s a symbol of law and order,” he said.
The prison operators designated Alcatraz as America’s most impregnable correctional facility because of its remote island position alongside its freezing waters and powerful ocean currents. The official records from Alcatraz did not reveal any prisoner who escaped successfully but five prisoners remain listed as “missing and presumed drowned.”
President Trump has ordered Alcatraz reopened to detain “America’s most ruthless and violent offenders,” bringing the infamous island prison back into operation for the first time in decades pic.twitter.com/DwkLroBkJu
— HOT SPOT (@HotSpotHotSpot) May 5, 2025
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) website explains that Alcatraz shut down due to its exorbitant costs which were mainly attributed to its remote island setting. The website of the Federal Bureau of Prisons indicated that operating costs for the facility were nearly three times higher than those of other prisons.
Political Pushback
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democratic representative from California, dismissed the Republican President’s proposed plan, as reported by Reuters.
“Alcatraz closed as a federal penitentiary more than sixty years ago. It is now a very popular national park and a major tourist attraction. The President’s proposal is not serious,” she said in a post on X.