Trump Proposes Reopening and Expanding Alcatraz Prison as Symbol of ‘Law and Order’
Former President Donald Trump has announced plans to reopen and significantly expand Alcatraz, the infamous prison located on an island near San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, Trump declared that “for too long America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat criminal offenders.” He described the return of Alcatraz to active use as a bold statement of “law, order, and justice.”
Once one of the most feared prisons in the United States, Alcatraz closed in 1963 due to high operating costs and has since become a major tourist attraction. Trump’s proposal calls for a “substantially enlarged and rebuilt” version of the facility that would house “America’s most ruthless and violent offenders.” He directed the Bureau of Prisons, along with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Department of Homeland Security, to carry out the initiative.
Democrats quickly dismissed the idea. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose district includes Alcatraz Island, said the plan is “not a serious one,” while California State Senator Scott Wiener called it “deeply unhinged” and “an attack on the rule of law.”
The announcement comes amid ongoing legal and political battles over Trump’s controversial approach to crime. Earlier this year, he faced backlash after reportedly sending over 200 alleged Venezuelan gang members to a prison in El Salvador and suggesting that “homegrown criminals” could also be incarcerated abroad.
Legal experts are also questioning the practicality of the Alcatraz plan. Professor Gabriel Jack Chin of the UC Davis School of Law told the BBC that the federal prison population has dropped by about 25% from its peak, leaving many existing facilities underused. “There are a lot of empty beds,” he said. “So it’s not clear if a new one is needed.” He noted, however, that Alcatraz retains a cultural reputation as a symbol of toughness, which may explain the political motivation behind the proposal.
Alcatraz, originally built as a military prison and later run by the Department of Justice, once held notorious criminals such as Al Capone, Mickey Cohen, and George “Machine Gun” Kelly. It has also been immortalized in films such as Birdman of Alcatraz, Escape from Alcatraz, and The Rock.
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the facility was shuttered because it was nearly three times more expensive to operate than any other federal prison, largely due to its remote island location.
