MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Trump wants Alcatraz reopened as a prison, not a tourist attraction

“The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order and JUSTICE,” Trump claimed

US President Donald Trump announced this weekend plans to reopen and expand Alcatraz, the former maximum-security prison on an island near San Francisco, which closed in 1963. The Republican leader intends to use the facility to house America’s “most violent” criminals, including repeat offenders and potentially undocumented immigrants with alleged criminal records. He directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and FBI to execute this plan, emphasizing it as a symbol of “Law, Order, and Justice.”

The announcement follows Trump’s frustration with judicial rulings blocking his attempts to deport immigrants to foreign prisons, such as El Salvador’s Cecot, and comes amid controversies over due process violations, exemplified by the allegedly mistaken deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Alcatraz, now a popular tourist site, has no set timeline for reopening.

“We will no longer tolerate those repeat offenders who sow rot, bloodshed, and chaos in our streets,” Trump stressed. In a message on Truth Social, he said he instructed the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and the FBI to reopen the maximum security facility operational from 1934 to 1963. The 2.01 km² prison closed a year after three men escaped and disappeared, inspiring several Hollywood movies, although authorities blamed high costs for the closure. Since then, Alcatraz has been one of the biggest tourist attractions in California.

“We will not be held hostage by criminals, thugs, and judges who are afraid to do their jobs and allow us to expel criminals who entered our country illegally,” Trump insisted after being prevented from sending immigrants with alleged criminal records to the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) in El Salvador.

“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. 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,” Trump argued. “The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order and JUSTICE,” he added.

A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons told the Associated Press in a statement that the agency “will comply with all Presidential Orders.” Well-known criminals such as Al Capone, George “Machine-Gun” Kelly, Alvin Karpis (the first ”Public Enemy No. 1) and Arthur “Doc” Barker did time at the infamous 336-capacity facility. Of the 36 inmates who tried to escape, 23 were caught, six were shot and killed, and two drowned. The island opened to tourists in 1973 and remains an attraction to this day. Trump has not set a date for the prison's reopening as such.