In a surprise announcement, President Donald Trump declared plans to rebuild and reopen Alcatraz, the infamous island prison in San Francisco Bay that once held America’s most notorious criminals The facility, closed since 1963 and now a major tourist attraction, would be “substantially enlarged and rebuilt” to house what Trump described as “America’s most ruthless and violent offenders.”
Trump made the announcement Sunday on his Truth Social platform, stating, “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 directed the Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security to coordinate on the project, calling the reopening a “symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE.”
The proposal comes as federal detention centers reach capacity and Trump faces judicial pushback on his immigration and deportation policies Critics, including California officials, have dismissed the idea as unworkable and politically motivated, citing the high costs that led to Alcatraz’s original closure and the logistical challenges of operating a prison on an island
Details remain vague, with no timeline or funding plan announced. For now, Alcatraz remains a symbol-both of America’s penal past and of the heated debate over crime and justice in 202.
