Is Trump Really Going To Reopen Alcatraz?
President Donald Trump says he wants to bring Alcatraz prison back to life, turning the historic island into a maximum-security facility for America’s most dangerous criminals. In a Truth Social post, Trump said he’s ordering the Bureau of Prisons, DOJ, FBI, and Homeland Security to rebuild and reopen a bigger, tougher version of the old prison.
No, this isn’t a satire article or a repost of an April Fool’s article. He really said this shit.
“REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ!” Trump wrote, calling it a symbol of “Law, Order, and JUSTICE.”
Alcatraz, famously nicknamed “The Rock,” was home to notorious inmates like Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly. It opened in 1934 and was designed to isolate the most troublesome prisoners. But it shut down in 1963 because it was just too expensive to keep running. Everything had to be hauled in by boat, including a million gallons of water each week, and sewage was dumped straight into the bay.
Historian Jolene Babyak, who grew up on the island, said to NPR, the water and sewage issues alone make the idea of reopening Alcatraz totally impractical. “Those are two reasons why it would be very difficult.”
While Trump didn’t give any timeline or specifics, he called the prison “powerful” and said it represents “law and order.” He also joked that he “was supposed to be a movie maker,” referencing Alcatraz’s fame in pop culture.
Alcatraz housed fewer than 300 inmates at a time which is less than 1% of the federal prison population, but had a big reputation. Ironically, some prisoners actually preferred it there, thanks to private cells and good food.
Today, Alcatraz is a major tourist attraction run by the National Park Service. Since 1973, visitors have explored the island to learn about its layered history. ‘The Rock’ housed everyone from Civil War prisoners and Hopi Tribe members to army barracks and infamous mobsters.
Rebuilding it now would cost a fortune, and with it being part of a national park, it’s not clear how such a plan would even move forward. Still, Trump’s idea fits into his broader push for tough-on-crime policies, including controversial proposals like deporting immigrants to a prison in El Salvador.
Whether Alcatraz becomes a prison again or remains a historic site, one thing’s for sure: The Rock still has a grip on the American imagination.
I don’t this is what San Francisco meant when people said we needed new housing units.
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