Trump in his infinite wisdom made a rambling declaration via TruthSocial that he wants Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary reopened. The fantastical directive would revive the island’s century-old use as a prison, this time for whomever the president deems undesirable. It’s almost impressive, the lengths he goes to remain uneducated and dodge improvement, loyally committed to a standard of ineptitude. Halfway through a second illegitimate presidency, Trump still acts like his reach is absolute, like the anti-commandeering doctrine isn’t real. Even if the deteriorating despot got his wish, plenty more obstacles make reopening a prison on Alcatraz a fool’s errand.
MAGA: Make Alcatraz Great Again?
Alcatraz Island pictured by James Conrad.
“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 (sic),” he writes. “When we were a more serious Nation (sic), 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. No longer will we tolerate these Serial Offenders (sic) who spread filth, bloodshed, and mayhem on our streets. That is why, today, 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 (sic).”
“Ill-informed” would apply if he bothered to get informed. If Trump knew more beyond “Alcatraz is an island in San Francisco Bay,” he’d likely know why the prison closed. Surrounding Alcatraz is swiftly moving seawater at 50°F, up to 160 feet deep with busy shipping lanes and sharks. To inmates, a cruel trick of light and water made downtown San Francisco about 1.5 miles away look tantalizingly close. Of 36 documented escape attempts, 23 were recaptured. Six were shot dead by prison guards, two drowned, and the remaining five were never seen again. Effective as it was, the penitentiary ultimately proved too expensive to operate. The island has no freshwater source, requiring pricey, routine shipment of every basic necessity to support staff and inmates. Ironically, what made the island such a formidable fortress is also what doomed its role as one.
Despite costly upkeep, Alcatraz served as a prison site for nearly a century. The military installed disciplinary barracks there in 1868, open until 1933. By the 1890s, the imposing sandstone cliffs of Alcatraz had earned the prison its famous nickname, “the Rock.” The military then transferred ownership to the US Federal Bureau of Prisons, and in August 1934, opened to the nation’s most violent criminals. Some infamous inmates: George “Machine Gun” Kelly, Robert Stroud (aka “the Birdman of Alcatraz”), and monster mafioso Al Capone, aka “Scarface.”
By the mid-20th century though, it was evident that Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary’s infrastructure was decaying. The sheer challenge of operating a prison on the inhospitable, fog-blasted island (supplies, electricity, sewage treatment, etc.) ultimately proved unsustainable. The prison closed in March 1963. In 1969, Alcatraz played a big role in the American Indian Movement, the nation’s first pan-Indigenous demand for Native rights. Alcatraz, final touchstone of Ohlone spirits before passing through the Western Gate, returned to Indigenous hands for three years. The Native occupation of Alcatraz Island spanned 1969–1971.
Following their forced eviction, AIM occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington DC and later, Wounded Knee, South Dakota. The US National Park Service declared the site a recreation area, and the renowned prison grounds became a museum. On average, 1.4 million tourists visit the island each year.
Alcatraz is one island where Trump is not welcome.
Following up with Trump’s baseless post, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced via Twitter that, “There is no realistic plan for Alcatraz to host anyone other than visitors. If the federal government has billions of dollars to spend in San Francisco, we could use that funding to keep our streets safe and clean and help our economy recover. Alcatraz is a beloved destination bringing visitors and economic activity to San Francisco every year. Our city is on the rise—let’s keep it that way.”
In typical Trump fashion, the president is doubling down on his terrible idea. The White House’s 2027 spending proposal suggested Congress dedicate $152 million to revitalizing Alcatraz as a "state-of-the-art secure prison facility.” Predictably, state and local officials rejected the project. In an email to the SF Standard, spokesperson for Governor Gavin Newsom Diana Crofts-Pelayo remarked, “This project is stupid and a waste of taxpayer money.”
State Senator Scott Wiener also commented, “Trump’s idiotic quest to sink $2 billion into ruining a globally popular tourist attraction is the epitome of waste, fraud, and abuse.”
Alcatraz looks closer to shore than it is, which is why the official monthly swim across is such an endurance test. Creative commons.
Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) reveled in living to call Trump stupid another day, saying via press release, “The Trump Administration’s budget proposal [to reopen Alcatraz] is absurd on its face and should be rejected outright. Rebuilding Alcatraz into a modern prison is a stupid notion that would be nothing more than a waste of taxpayer dollars and an insult to the intelligence of the American people.”
Indeed, operating Alcatraz as a prison proved unsustainable over sixty years ago. Nothing in the time since has changed this. The topic was discussed at a House Judiciary Committee hearing two days after Trump proposed his idea. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) said keeping the lights on at Alcatraz cost triple the amount of any prison since 1959.
“It needs about $250 million to shore up the infrastructure and utilities,” he continued. “All food and water have to be barged in. Sewage has to be barged out. The facility is almost 100 years old. I don’t get it.”
