US President Donald Trump is seeking $152 million (£115m) to reopen the infamous Alcatraz prison as part of his proposed budget for the 2027 fiscal year. Located near San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, the site, also known as The Rock, was once regarded as one of America's most notorious prisons, but has served as a tourist attraction in recent years.
The budget request is seeking money to rebuild Alcatraz as a state-of-the-art secure prison facility, with funds covering the first year of costs. The plan has been met with skepticism by a number of politicians in California, with questions raised about the final cost of the project and the challenges of running Alcatraz as an active prison.
The maximum security facility was closed in 1963. As a tourist site, it is currently run by the National Park Service. Former speaker for the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, said the budget proposal from the Trump administration was absurd on its face and should be rejected outright. Rebuilding Alcatraz into a modern prison is a stupid notion that would be nothing more than a waste of taxpayer dollars and an insult to the intelligence of the American people.
The request will need approval from the US Congress. Previous criticism of Trump's plan has pointed to the lack of running water and sewage on the island, and the fact all supplies are required to be brought in by boat. According to the US Bureau of Prisons, by the time Alcatraz closed, it was three times more expensive to operate than any other federal prison.
Pelosi also raised a concern echoed by other San Francisco politicians, that turning Alcatraz back into a functioning prison would mean the loss of an iconic landmark. Currently, the facility brings in $60m (£45m) in revenue as a tourist attraction. The money being sought to reopen the prison as an active facility is part of a $1.7bn (£1.3bn) investment into the Bureau of Prisons.
Announcing his plans on Truth Social last year, Trump stated he was 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. Alcatraz was originally a naval defense fort, later converted to a military prison and then to a federal prison in the 1930s, housing notorious inmates like Al Capone and Mickey Cohen.
The budget request is seeking money to rebuild Alcatraz as a state-of-the-art secure prison facility, with funds covering the first year of costs. The plan has been met with skepticism by a number of politicians in California, with questions raised about the final cost of the project and the challenges of running Alcatraz as an active prison.
The maximum security facility was closed in 1963. As a tourist site, it is currently run by the National Park Service. Former speaker for the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, said the budget proposal from the Trump administration was absurd on its face and should be rejected outright. Rebuilding Alcatraz into a modern prison is a stupid notion that would be nothing more than a waste of taxpayer dollars and an insult to the intelligence of the American people.
The request will need approval from the US Congress. Previous criticism of Trump's plan has pointed to the lack of running water and sewage on the island, and the fact all supplies are required to be brought in by boat. According to the US Bureau of Prisons, by the time Alcatraz closed, it was three times more expensive to operate than any other federal prison.
Pelosi also raised a concern echoed by other San Francisco politicians, that turning Alcatraz back into a functioning prison would mean the loss of an iconic landmark. Currently, the facility brings in $60m (£45m) in revenue as a tourist attraction. The money being sought to reopen the prison as an active facility is part of a $1.7bn (£1.3bn) investment into the Bureau of Prisons.
Announcing his plans on Truth Social last year, Trump stated he was 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. Alcatraz was originally a naval defense fort, later converted to a military prison and then to a federal prison in the 1930s, housing notorious inmates like Al Capone and Mickey Cohen.
