President Donald J. Trump is asking for $152 million to turn Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay back into a functional prison again, an idea that he initially floated last year.
The money to reopen “The Rock” for business was included in the White House’s proposed budget for the 2027 fiscal year, which also includes a massive increase in military spending for the war in Iran.
Trump’s budget calls for Congress to allocate the funding for the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to cover the first year costs for the rebuilding of Alcatraz as a “state-of-the-art secure prison facility.”
In a May 2025 social media post, Trump called for the reopening of Alcatraz as a “symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE.”
REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ! 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… pic.twitter.com/u1jOCMXeW5
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2025
“REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ! 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,” the president wrote. “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.”
“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,” Trump continued. “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!”
President Trump requests $152 million to transform Alcatraz into a state of the art secure prison facility.
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“For years, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has housed violent criminals in crumbling detention facilities,” the proposed budget states. “Building on a $5 billion investment secured in the President’s [Working Families Tax Credit], the Budget further invests in BOP to ensure competitive pay, safe working conditions, and an end to longstanding correctional officer shortages.”
Originally a military prison from 1850 until 1933, Alcatraz was converted into a federal penitentiary notorious for its location in view of the “City by the Bay” but “inescapable” due to the unforgiving currents and shark-infested waters.
According to the BOP’s website, it was closed down on March 21, 1963, “because the institution was too expensive to continue operating.”
“An estimated $3-5 million was needed just for restoration and maintenance work to keep the prison open,” the bureau noted.
“That figure did not include daily operating costs – Alcatraz was nearly three times more expensive to operate than any other Federal prison,” the website reads.
The island and the remnants of the once foreboding prison are currently a popular tourist destination.
Since its closure Alcatraz has been the subject of lore and has been featured in many Hollywood movies including the Sean Connery-Nicholas Cage action flick “The Rock” and Clint Eastwood’s “Escape from Alcatraz,” a big screen yarn about bank robber and burglar Frank Morris who along with the Anglin brothers, disappeared from the inescapable island in 1962 and, as legend has it, the only successful escape in the institution’s storied history.
Among the inmates who served time at Alcatraz were mobsters Al Capone, George “Machine Gun” Kelly, and “Whitey” Bulger, along with vicious killer Robert Stroud, aka “The Birdman of Alcatraz,” who was portrayed on the big screen by Burt Lancaster in the 1962 film of the same title.
“In 1972, Congress created the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and Alcatraz Island was included as part of the new National Park Service unit. The island opened to the public in the fall of 1973 and has become one of the most popular Park Service sites – more than one million visitors from around the world visit the island each year,” the BOP website states.
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