United States President, Donald Trump, has proposed allocating $152 million (£115m) in his 2027 fiscal year budget to transform the notorious Alcatraz prison back into a fully operational high-security facility.
Perched near San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, familiarly known as The Rock, was once among America’s most infamous prisons. In recent decades, however, it has functioned as a major tourist attraction.
The funding request is aimed at “rebuild[ing] Alcatraz as a state-of-the-art secure prison facility,” covering the first year of operational costs.
The plan has faced scepticism from California politicians, who question both the projected cost and the feasibility of running the island as a functioning prison.
Alcatraz, a maximum-security facility, was shuttered in 1963. Today, it is managed by the National Park Service as a tourist site.
Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized the proposal, describing it as “absurd on its face and should be rejected outright.” She added, “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.”
Congress must approve the budget request before it can move forward.
Critics have highlighted the logistical challenges of reopening the prison, noting the lack of running water and sewage systems on the island and the fact that all supplies must be transported by boat.
At the time of its closure, Alcatraz was reportedly three times more expensive to operate than any other federal prison, according to the US Bureau of Prisons.
Pelosi echoed concerns from other San Francisco officials that reviving Alcatraz as a prison would risk losing an iconic landmark.
The National Park Service reports that the site currently generates $60 million (£45m) in annual revenue as a tourist destination.
The $152 million request is part of a larger $1.7 billion (£1.3bn) investment proposed for the Bureau of Prisons.
Trump, speaking on Truth Social last year, said he had directed “the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ.” He added that the facility would “house America’s most ruthless and violent offenders.”
Originally a naval defense fort, Alcatraz was later converted to a military prison before the Department of Justice took control in the 1930s, turning it into a federal penitentiary.
Notorious inmates included gangsters Al Capone, Mickey Cohen, and George “Machine Gun” Kelly.
The prison has also inspired Hollywood, serving as the backdrop for films such as 1962’s Birdman of Alcatraz starring Burt Lancaster, 1979’s Escape from Alcatraz with Clint Eastwood, and 1996’s The Rock, featuring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage.
