President Trump directed federal officials to open Alcatraz for detainees. It’s not the first time the topic has cropped up.
President Trump floats idea of reopening Alcatraz prison
President Donald Trump floated the idea of reopening and expanding the infamous Alcatraz prison as he expressed frustration with judges.
For those who’ve seen any of the dozens of movies featuring Alcatraz over the years, just hearing the word conjures images of the 22-acre island in San Francisco Bay and its notorious former prison, closed down more than 60 years ago.
Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage teamed up on there in the 1996 movie “The Rock.” It was also seen in 1979’s “Escape From Alcatraz,” with Clint Eastwood and was portrayed in the final battle scenes in “X Men: The Last Stand” in 2006.
So when President Donald Trump dropped the words “REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ” in a Truth Social post just before 7 p.m. on May 4, it quickly gathered interest. It’s not the first time the idea has been floated to use the aging facilities to house detained immigrants.
“It’s a symbol of law and order,” Trump said in response to a question from Reuters’ reporter on the night of May 4 about what gave him the idea.
“It’s an idea I had,” Trump told reporters in remarks later in the evening. “So many of these radicalized judges, they want to have trials for… every single person that’s in our country illegally.”
“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,” Trump said in the Truth Social post. “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.”
At the moment, Alcatraz is a very popular national historic destination, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It attracts $60 million in revenue for park partners and attracts 1.6 million visitors a year, according to the National Park Service. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and named a National Historic Landmark in 1986.
Has Alcatraz been considered for reuse before?
When the maximum security prison was closed by then Attorney General Robert Kennedy in 1963, the Federal Bureau of Prisons stated it was too expensive to continue operating because it needed $3 million to $5 million in restoration and maintenance. The bureau reported it was three times more expensive to operate than any other federal prison, primarily because of its physical isolation and lack of fresh water.
In 1981, Alcatraz Island was one of 14 sites evaluated as the Reagan Administration searched for a location to hold 10,000 to 20,000 Cuban detainees during the Mariel Boatlift. However, the site was rejected because of its lack of utilities, historic nature and popularity as a tourist destination.
Even at its maximum capacity, Alcatraz would only have held 336 inmates, but its population never reached more than about 300, according to research in a 1994 paper published by the Oxford University Press.
This isn’t the first time this year that Alcatraz has come up among the Trump family. The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., said on X in January, responding to a post about sending criminal undocumented immigrants to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba: “Maybe we should also reopen Alcatraz?”
What to know about Alcatraz Island’s history:
One national parks website refers to Alcatraz as “the grimmest symbol in North America of the hand of justice.”
◾It once served as a place where the Indigenous Ohlone and Coast Miwok tribes would isolate people who broke tribal law.
◾In 1775, Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala is said to have named it “Isla de los Alcatraces,” which translates to Island of the Pelicans.
◾It was the site of the first lighthouse on the West Coast and became the first navigational lamp on the West Coast in 1854, and was the home of a military fort during the California gold rush.
◾It began holding prisoners during the Civil War, and eventually opened as a maximum security prison in 1934.
◾It gained notoriety because its prisoners included infamous criminals such as Al Capone and “Machine Gun” Kelly. It was noted for holding “incorrigibles” for punishment and incarceration, including those who had been a management problem in other prisons, according to histories from the National Park Service and the Bureau of Prisons.
Did anyone ever really escape from Alcatraz?
Over 29 years, 36 men tried to escape. The outcome of three men who escaped in 1962 remains a mystery, according to the FBI.
Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin hatched an escape plan over months, including creating dummy heads made of plaster and real hair to make it appear they were in their beds. They used a homemade drill made from a vacuum cleaner to loosen air vents in their cells, then left the prison through a utility corridor and launched a raft into the bay.
That’s where the trail went cold, and during a 17-year investigation, the FBI was never able to determine if the men had survived or not.
(This story was updated to correct a typo.)
Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent for USA TODAY, has covered the environment, climate change and other news for decades. Reach her at dpulver@usatoday.com or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal.
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