Trump Proposes Reopening Alcatraz, Experts Raise Alarms

By: Rose Schreier '27

Alcatraz sits on an island 1.2 miles from San Francisco, rusting as its paint tears, and Seagulls claim the prison as their own. Visitors stomp on the grounds, pose in Al Capone’s cell, and shiver in the prison's ever-present fog. Alcatraz didn’t always used to be this way; in fact, from 1930 to 1963, it was an operating prison housing the most infamous mob bosses, gangsters, and serial killers. However, the prison was shut down due to the cost of maintaining prison cells, which was nearly three times higher than other U.S. prisons, and facilities were constantly victim to salt air corrosion. Restoring Alcatraz would have cost 3 to 5 million dollars at the time. Now, the prison acts as a tourist destination operated by the National Parks Service. Though there have been murmurs surrounding the reopening of Alcatraz in the past, they were shut down.

However, on May 4th, Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, “REBUILD AND REOPEN ALCATRAZ." Trump claimed that he was working with the FBI, the Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Justice, and Homeland Security to reopen Alcatraz, renovate it, and increase the number of prisoners it could hold. Trump's reasoning behind this, as detailed in his Truth Social post, is that, “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. The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE. We will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” This claim has since been disputed by numerous experts and political figures, including Governor Gavin Newsom, who says that, “You can't even come up with a more colossally bad fiscal idea. Nothing about this makes any sense." 

There is data supporting Newsom’s claim that reopening Alcatraz would be a logistical nightmare. Firstly, Alcatraz would be extremely expensive to renovate, costing billions of dollars due to its deplorable condition. The National Park Service estimates that tens of thousands would be needed to restore existing structures. The prison would also have to meet current prison standards, and new technology would need to be installed. A modern prison wing would cost 100 to 200 million to build. Additionally, since Alcatraz sits on an island, it is extremely costly to send goods back and forth which adds an extra layer of difficulty. Since the island is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, any construction would have to go through a series of environmental impact assessments. Also, the U.S. isn’t in need of another maximum security prison, since according to Charles Weisselberg, a professor at the UC Berkeley School of Law, “There has been a decline in the federal prison population, given the fact that there is already a supermax facility in existence, you have to ask: Why do we need Alcatraz?”

Ultimately, the plan of reopening Alcatraz raises concerns due to its irrationality and potential social risks and demonstrates a prioritization of symbolism over pragmatic solutions. The prison represented a tough-on-crime image that Trump seeks to restore, but he doesn’t appear to care about how unnecessarily challenging the undertaking could be. The proposal also coincides with Trump's border immigration strategies; he has already expressed plans to detain undocumented immigrants at Guantanamo Bay, which raises the fear that he intends to do the same at Alcatraz. The U.S. prison system has been historically complex and corrupt, with clear systemic biases and inhumane treatment. However, this potential reopening could introduce a whole new layer of complexities.