President Donald Trump said Sunday he will direct several federal agencies to "reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt Alcatraz," a facility that for decades was a federal prison and is now a national park.
"REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ! For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"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," he added.
Alcatraz Island, a former military fortress and prison in San Francisco Bay, was turned into a federal penitentiary in 1934 and over the course of 29 years housed more than 1,500 people "deemed difficult to incarcerate elsewhere in the federal prison system," according to the National Park Service.
According to a National Park Service study, it was initially deemed unfit to serve as a federal institution because of its small size, isolated location and lack of fresh water. However, Sanford Bates, the director of the Bureau of Prisons in 1933, later found it "an ideal place of confinement for about 200 of the most desperate or irredeemable types." It was formally opened as a federal penitentiary the next year.
Trump suggested in his post that he'd like to restore the facility to that purpose.
"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. That’s the way it’s supposed to be," he wrote.
The director of the Bureau of Prisons, William K. Marshall III, said in a statement that his agency "will vigorously pursue all avenues to support and implement the President’s agenda.”
“I have ordered an immediate assessment to determine our needs and the next steps," Marshall said. "USP Alcatraz has a rich history. We look forward to restoring this powerful symbol of law, order, and justice."
According to the Bureau of Prisons, the average population of Alcatraz during its use was 260 to 275. The facility never reached its capacity of 336 people, and it held less than 1% of the total federal prison population.
Trump seemed to suggest the island could be used to house some undocumented immigrants he has been seeking to remove from the country, making a pointed reference in his post to "judges that are afraid to do their job and allow us to remove criminals who came into our country illegally."
Trump in March sent more than 200 deportees he accused of being Venezuelan gang members to a terrorism confinement center in El Salvador, arguing his invocation of the Alien Enemies Act enabled him to do so, even though a federal judge blocked the effort.
A Trump-appointed federal judge last week rejected Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to deport the alleged Venezuelan gang members.
Trump decried the judicial rulings in explaining his rationale for reopening the prison Sunday evening, describing Alcatraz as a famous "symbol of law and order."
"The judges, so many of these radicalized judges, they want to have trials for every single, think of it, every single person that’s in our country illegally," Trump told reporters at the White House on Sunday evening. "That would mean millions of trials, and it’s just so ridiculous what’s happening."
Trump similarly announced an effort in March to detain immigrants he's seeking to deport in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, but concerns about the legality and the cost of the move have led the administration to reconsider the plan.
The Bureau of Prisons operates at least 120 federal institutions and manages a population of 156,254 people.
It is unclear how feasible the move is considering ongoing budget constraints at the Bureau of Prisons, which told a union representing some of its staff members in December that it planned to close several facilities.
Alcatraz closed as a penitentiary in 1963, according to the Bureau of Prisons, because of expensive operating costs further heightened by the physical isolation of the island, which meant all food and supplies had to be delivered by boat.
"An estimated $3-5 million was needed just for restoration and maintenance work to keep the prison open. That figure did not include daily operating costs — Alcatraz was nearly three times more expensive to operate than any other Federal prison," the Bureau of Prisons wrote of the penitentiary's closing.
Nearly a decade later, in 1972, Congress established the Golden Gate National Recreational Area, which included Alcatraz Island. The complex opened to the public a year later, and it has gone on to become among the most popular National Park Service sites, according to the agency, hosting more than 1 million visitors annually.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House speaker, whose district includes the island, said Trump's proposal "is not a serious one," noting on X that it is now "a major tourist attraction."
A spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom also downplayed the legitimacy of the idea.
“Looks like it’s distraction day again in Washington, D.C.," said Diana Crofts-Pelayo, Newsom's deputy director of communication.
