President Donald Trump has vowed to ‘rebuild and open Alcatraz’ as he seeks to crack down on violent criminals and illegal migrants.
In a post shared to Truth Social on Sunday night, Trump said ‘the reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE.’
Trump has directed the Bureau of Prisons to work alongside the Department of Justice, FBI and Homeland Security to ‘reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt’ Alcatraz.
He said the notorious facility, which once held famed gangster Al Capone, will ‘house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders.’
The order comes as Trump has repeatedly clashed with the courts as he tries to send accused gang members and illegal migrants to a notorious prison in El Salvador.
The maximum security prison, which was shut down in 1963, will provide Trump a workaround to those court orders barring him from carrying out the mass deportation scheme.
‘We will no longer be held hostage to criminals, thugs, and Judges that are afraid to do their job and allow us to remove criminals, who came into our Country illegally,’ he wrote, appearing to suggest illegal migrants will be the first sent to the prison.
Trump has also directed the opening of a detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to hold up to 30,000 of what he has labeled the ‘worst criminal aliens.’
President Donald Trump has vowed to ‘rebuild and open Alcatraz’ as he seeks to crack down on violent criminals and make America safer
Alcatraz was a maximum security federal prison off the coast of San Francisco which was closed in 1963 after 29 years of operation
In a post shared to TruthSocial on Sunday night, Trump vowed ‘the reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE’
Several judges have ruled he must grant deportees due process. Trump has also floated potentially sending American citizens there and to other foreign prisons, but a reinvigorated Alcatraz could also solve that problem should legal challenges arise.
‘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,’ he wrote.
‘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. No longer will we tolerate these Serial Offenders who spread filth, bloodshed, and mayhem on our streets.’
Alcatraz was a maximum security federal prison off the coast of San Francisco which was closed in 1963 after 29 years of operation.
Despite housing a host of notorious inmates, the prison was catapulted to fame in the 1996 movie The Rock, starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage.
But one of the leading factors in the decision to shutter it for good was the cost of restoration and maintenance.
The Bureau of Prisons at the time said it would have cost an estimated $3million to $5million simply to keep the doors open.
‘That figure did not include daily operating costs – Alcatraz was nearly three times more expensive to operate than any other Federal prison (in 1959 the daily per capita cost at Alcatraz was $10.10 compared with $3.00 at USP Atlanta),’ a spokesperson said at the time.
The main expense was due to the fact that Alcatraz was an island and all of the goods had to be shipped in.
Trump has directed the Bureau of Prisons to work alongside the Department of Justice, FBI and Homeland Security to ‘reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt’ Alcatraz
There were 1,576 prisoners held in Alcatraz over that time and it was notorious for its primative conditions
Al Capone’s mugshot when he arrived at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary August 22, 1934
‘The island had no source of fresh water, so nearly one million gallons of water had to be barged to the island each week,’ the spokesperson said.
‘The Federal Government found that it was more cost-effective to build a new institution than to keep Alcatraz open.’
Following the announcement of its closure, signed off by US Attorney General Robert Kennedy, Alcatraz’s population was slowly whittled down, with inmates redistributed to other federal prisons.
There were 1,576 prisoners held in Alcatraz over that time and it was notorious for its primative conditions.
On Sunday, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement that the agency ‘will comply with all Presidential Orders.’
Back in January, Trump’s eldest son Don Jr. shared a post on X suggesting Alcratraz should be reopened – sparking theories that he is behind the president’s latest announcement.
‘Now this is a great idea,’ he said in response to news Trump would send the worst criminals to Guantanamo Bay. ‘Maybe we should also reopen Alcatraz?,’ he added.
Bank robbing trio Frank Morris, Clarence Anglin, and John Anglin famously escaped in 1962, leaving behind dummy heads made of plaster and human hair to fool the guards.
They were never found. Some suspect they didn’t survive the frigid waters and strong currents, but their daring escape also sparked wild theories that they’d made it ashore and adopted new lives.
The brothers and Morris tunneled out their cells, crept through ventilation ducts and through an unguarded utility door before fleeing into the shark-infested bay on a handmade raft.
According to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), an estimated $3 million to $5 million was needed just for restoration and maintenance work to keep the prison open
Bank robbing trio Frank Morris, Clarence Anglin, and John Anglin famously escaped in 1962, leaving behind dummy heads made of plaster and human hair to fool the guards
One image captures a prison chef at Alcatraz with a Christmas menu from 1950 outlined above him
There were 378 cells at the prison in total with this number including isolation cells. The cell pictured is adorned with artworks made by the inmate in a bid to brighten things up
One of the guard towers on Alcatraz Island with the city of San Francisco in the background
Before Alactraz permanently closed its doors, there were a total of 14 separate escapes involving 36 inmates.
According to reports 23 were captured, six were shot and killed during the attempt, two drowned and five were never found.
Historic photos reveal what life was like at the island-bound jail, also known as The Rock, from the bare bones cells to the bustling mess hall and the bulletproof main guard’s office.
One image captures a prison chef standing still for the camera with a Christmas menu from 1950 outlined above him. For the festive lunch, inmates were treated to roast turkey, giblet gravy, candied sweet potatoes, raisin nut dressing, whipped potatoes, and bread with butter substitute ‘oleo.’
In 1972, Alcatraz was added to the newly created Golden Gate National Recreation Area and was opened to the public in 1973 as a historical landmark.
Today the former prison welcomes more than 1.5 million visitors a year.
Tickets sell out nearly every day, sometimes weeks in advance, for audio tours of the main cell block and recreation yard plus the chance to stroll past the island’s gardens and ruined buildings.
