President Donald Trump said Sunday that he will lead several federal agencies to “reopen an Alcatraz of a substantially expanded and rebuilt Alcatraz”, an installation that was a federal prison for decades and is now a national park.
“Rebuild and open Alcatraz! For too long, the United States has been full of vicious, violent and repeated criminal criminals, the doubts of society, which will never contribute nothing more than misery and suffering,” Trump wrote in Truth Social.
“I am directing to the Prison Office, together with the Department of Justice, the FBI and National Security, to reopen a substantially expanded and rebuilt Alcatraz, to house the most ruthless and violent criminals in the United States,” he added.
The island of Alcatraz, a former military strength and prison in the Bay of San Francisco, became a federal penitentiary in 1934 and in the course of 29 years it housed more than 1,500 people “considered difficult to imprison in another part of the Federal Penitentiary System”, according to the National Parks Service.
According to a Study of the National Parks Service, initially it was considered not suitable to serve as a federal institution due to its small size, isolated location and lack of fresh water. However, Sanford Bates, director of the Prison Office in 1933 ,, Later, he found it “an ideal place of confinement for about 200 of the most desperate or irredimible types.” It opened formally as a federal penitentiary next year.
Trump suggested in his publication that he would like to restore the installation to that purpose.
“When we were a more serious nation, in past times, we do not hesitate to enclose the most dangerous criminals and keep them away from anyone they could harm. Thus it is supposed to be,” he wrote.
The prison office did not immediately respond to a comment request on Sunday night.
According to the Prison Office, Alcatraz’s average population during use was 260 to 275. The installation never reached its capacity of 336 people, and had less than 1% of the total federal prison population.
Trump seemed to suggest that the island could be used to house some undocumented immigrants who have been looking to eliminate from the country, making a pointed reference in his position to “the judges who are afraid to do their job and allow us to eliminate criminals who came to our country illegally.”
In March, Trump sent more than 200 deportees who accused of being members of Venezuelan gangs to a terrorism confinement center in El Salvador, arguing that his invocation of the Alien enemies law allowed him to do so, despite the fact that a federal judge blocked the effort.
A federal judge appointed by Trump last week rejected Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Law to deport the alleged Venezuelan gang members.
Trump denounced judicial decisions by explaining his justification to reopen the prison on Sunday night, describing Alcatraz as a famous “law and order symbol.”
“The judges, many of these radicalized judges, want to have evidence for each one, think about it, each person in our country illegally,” Trump told journalists at the White House on Sunday night. “That would mean millions of evidence, and what is happening is so ridiculous.”
Trump similarly announced an effort in March to detain immigrants who seeks to deport in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but concerns about legality and the cost of measure have led the administration to reconsider the plan.
The prison office operates at least 120 federal institutions and manages a population of 156,254 people.
It is not clear how feasible the movement is considering the ongoing budget limitations in the Prison Office, which told a union that represents some of the members of its staff in December that planned to close several facilities.
Alcatraz closed as a penitentiary in 1963, according to the Prison Office, due to the expensive operating costs increased by the physical isolation of the island, which meant that all foods and supplies had to be delivered by boat.
“$ 3-5 million were needed only for restoration and maintenance work to maintain open prison. That figure did not include daily operating costs: Alcatraz was almost three times more expensive to operate than any other federal prison,” the prison office on the closure of the penitentiary wrote.
Almost a decade later, in 1972, Congress established the Golden Gate National Recreational Area, which included the island of Alcatraz. The complex opened to the public a year later, and has become one of the most popular national parks service sites, according to the agency, which houses more than 1 million visitors annually.
Representative Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat of California, the former speaker of the Chamber, whose district includes the island, said that Trump’s proposal “is not serious,” pointing to X that it is now “a great tourist attraction.”
A spokesman for the governor of California Gavin Newsom also minimized the legitimacy of the idea.
“It seems that it is the day of distraction again in Washington, DC,” said Diana Crofts-Pelayo, Newsom Communication Deputy Director.
