Trump Wants to Reopen Alcatraz—Here’s What We Know so Far

Additional prison space is consistent with the president’s efforts to crack down on criminal activity in the United States.

An aerial view shows Alcatraz island in San Francisco on May 16, 2024. Alcatraz Island is 1.25 miles (2.01 km) offshore from San Francisco and initially was a federal prison before being converted into a tourist attraction. The strong currents around the island and cold water temperatures made escape nearly impossible, and the prison became one of the most notorious in American history. Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump says he wants to reopen a “substantially enlarged and rebuilt” Alcatraz prison, saying he wants to place violent criminals, repeat offenders, and possibly illegal immigrants in the facility.

Speaking to reporters on May 4, the president said he is directing the Bureau of Prisons to rebuild and reopen the San Francisco Bay facility, adding that the prison is a “symbol of law and order.”

“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,” he wrote on a social media post on Sunday. “That’s the way it’s supposed to be. No longer will we tolerate these Serial Offenders who spread filth, bloodshed, and mayhem on our streets.”

Administration Crime Control Efforts

Additional prison space is consistent with the president’s efforts to crack down on criminal activity in the United States. The current administration has made a concerted effort in the first months of the administration to deport illegal immigrants affiliated with several major gangs, sending them to Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, El Salvador’s maximum-security prison.

The president alluded to this in his announcement: “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 reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE.”

The director of the Bureau of Prisons confirmed to The Epoch Times that his department is already working toward the president’s stated goal.

“The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will vigorously pursue all avenues to support and implement the President’s agenda,” Bureau of Prisons Director William K. Marshall III said in an emailed statement.

“I have ordered an immediate assessment to determine our needs and the next steps. USP Alcatraz has a rich history. We look forward to restoring this powerful symbol of law, order, and justice. We will be actively working with our law enforcement and other federal partners to reinstate this very important mission.”

Opposition

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) indicated on social media that she doesn’t believe the president’s comments constitute a “serious” proposal. 

“Alcatraz closed as a federal penitentiary more than sixty years ago,” Pelosi said in a post on X within hours of Trump’s comments making the headlines. “It is now a very popular national park and major tourist attraction. The President’s proposal is not a serious one.”

Civil rights attorney Scott Hechinger spoke out against the president’s announcement on X, calling it a “sensational distraction” from his cutting funding to “bipartisan, proven, successful anti-crime, violence prevention programs around the country.” He didn’t name the programs in question.

The famous former prison housed criminals such as Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly before being shuttered in 1963.

During its operation, it was touted as America’s most secure prison, due in part to its island location, with the cold waters and strong currents surrounding the facility acting as a formidable moat.

It is believed there were no successful escapes from Alcatraz. Over its 29 years as a working prison, 36 men tried to escape in 14 separate attempts. All were caught or found to have not survived their attempts, save for five who were listed as “missing and presumed drowned.”

The fates of three of those inmates, John Anglin, his brother Clarence, and Frank Morris, were the subjects of the 1979 film “Escape from Alcatraz” about their attempted 1962 escape, starring Clint Eastwood.

Origins 

It was a presidential order issued in 1850 that set aside the island for U.S. military use. The ensuing California Gold Rush brought massive growth to the San Francisco Bay area, and the Army built a Citadel on the island in the mid-1800s.

The Army base was a bastion of American might, though it never fired its guns in battle. At the time, Alcatraz was the most heavily fortified military installation on the West Coast. Along with Port Point and Lime Point, Alcatraz was part of a “triangle of defense” set up to protect the entrance to the bay.

The Army used the Island for another 80 years until 1933, when it was transferred to the Department of Justice for use by the Bureau of Prisons. It was then put to use as a maximum-security, minimum-privilege penitentiary to house “the most incorrigible inmates in Federal prisons,” according to the Bureau of Prisons.

The prison is said to have been used as a way of showing the public that the government was serious about cracking down on rampant crime in the 1920s and 1930s.