Now an important tourist site, the California federal penitentiary has been shut for more than six decades.
United States President Donald Trump says he has ordered officials to rebuild and reopen Alcatraz, a notorious federal prison based on a small island in the state of California that has been shut for more than 60 years.
In a post on his Truth Social site on Sunday, Trump wrote he is “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 the US’s “most ruthless and violent Offenders”.
The directive was the latest move by the Republican to overhaul how and where federal prisoners and immigration detainees are locked up.
It comes as his administration has been clashing with the judiciary after invoking an 18th century law – previously used only during wartime – to deport those it alleges are criminals and gang members, without due process.
Trump has also repeatedly floated the legally dubious idea of sending US citizens convicted of violent crimes to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, known as CECOT.
Speaking to reporters as he returned to the White House after a weekend in Florida, Trump said reopening Alcatraz was “just an idea I’ve had” amid frustrations with “radicalised judges” who have insisted those being deported receive due process.
“It’s a symbol of law and order,” he said.
The comments followed the airing of an interview in which the president said he “didn’t know” whether people in the US are entitled to due process rights guaranteed by the country’s Constitution.
The Constitution’s Fifth Amendment provides “due process of law”, meaning a person has certain rights when it comes to being prosecuted for a crime. Also, the 14th Amendment says no state can “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”.
‘Not a serious’ proposal
Alcatraz was billed as the most secure prison in the US, given the island location, frigid waters and strong currents.
No successful escapes were ever officially recorded from Alcatraz during the 29 years it was open, though five prisoners are listed as “missing and presumed drowned”. Overall, 36 men attempted 14 separate escapes.
The prison, which has been the subject of several films, was closed in 1963 due to crumbling infrastructure and high repair and supply costs, as everything – from fuel to food – had to be brought by boat.
It was nearly three times costlier to operate than any other federal prison, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) website.
Bringing the facility up to modern-day standards would require massive investments at a time when the BOP has been shuttering prisons for similar infrastructure issues.
Alcatraz Island is now an important tourist site that is operated by the National Park Service and is a designated National Historic Landmark.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat whose district includes the island, questioned the feasibility of reopening the prison after so many years.
“It is now a very popular national park and major tourist attraction. The President’s proposal is not a serious one,” she wrote on X.