Trump says he is directing Bureau of Prisons to reopen Alcatraz to house ‘ruthless and violent offenders’
By Samantha Waldenberg, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump said in a social media post Sunday that he is directing the Bureau of Prisons to rebuild and reopen Alcatraz, the infamous former prison, as a place to “house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders.”
“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, to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders. We will no longer be held hostage to criminals, thugs, and Judges that are afraid to do their job and allow us to remove criminals, who came into our Country illegally,” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social. “The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE.”
The president told reporters as he arrived back to the White House later Sunday that it was “just an idea” he had because of “radicalized judges” who want to ensure migrants being deported have due process.
“I guess because so many of these radicalized judges, they want to have trials for … every single person that’s in our country illegally,” he said, adding, “that would mean millions of trials.”
Trump said Alcatraz has been “a sad symbol, but it’s a symbol of law and order. And you know it’s got quite a history, frankly, so I think we’re going to do that.”
Alcatraz, located on an island off the San Francisco coast, operated as a federal penitentiary for nearly 30 years before closing in 1963 “because the institution was too expensive to continue operating,” according to the Bureau of Prisons’ website.
An estimated $3 million to $5 million “was needed just for restoration and maintenance work to keep the prison open,” not including daily operating costs. “Alcatraz was nearly three times more expensive to operate than any other Federal prison,” according to the website.
It is now operated by the National Park Service as a tourist destination, welcoming approximately 1.2 million visitors a year.
Alcatraz was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1986. However, such a designation “can be considered for withdrawal either at the request of the owner or on the initiative of the Secretary of the Interior,” according to the National Park Service.
There are certain conditions that make a landmark eligible for losing the designation, such as ceasing “to meet criteria for designation; the qualities for which it was originally designated have been lost or destroyed.”
CNN has reached out to the Department of Interior, the National Park Service and the Bureau of Prisons for comment.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat whose district includes Alcatraz, pushed back on the president’s proposal, calling it “not a serious one.”
“Alcatraz closed as a federal penitentiary more than sixty years ago. It is now a very popular national park and major tourist attraction. The President’s proposal is not a serious one,” the congresswoman wrote Sunday on X.
The idea to reopen and rebuild Alcatraz seems to have already been floated by the president’s son Donald Trump Jr. days after his father was inaugurated for a second term when the president signed an executive order to send migrants to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“Now this is a great idea. Maybe we should also reopen Alcatraz?!?!” Trump Jr. wrote on X.
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