America’s Most Iconic Prison Could Soon Take Inmates Again – The Epoch Times

Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay. Edited by The Epoch Times, BlackBoxGuild/Freepik

The triple-decker ferry from Pier 33 rushes toward its bleak destination over a mile across the cold, restless waters of San Francisco Bay.

Once a fortress of isolation, the former maximum security prison rises like an ancient Acropolis atop the windswept rock of Alcatraz Island.

The concrete walls seem to hold many secrets, while pelicans and seagulls gather on the empty rooftops and guard towers, making these spaces their own.

The ferry stops at the prison dock, where curious passengers, met by a swarm of black summer flies, hurry to the meeting area.

A National Park Service (NPS) guide prepares to reveal the hidden stories of what was once America’s most infamous prison on this 22-acre island.

Alcatraz, the guide observes, is always breaking down in some way, always in a state of patchwork and repair.

In another time, notorious criminals, including Chicago mob boss Al Capone and Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, called Alcatraz home.

Repeat, Criminal Offenders

President Donald Trump wants to reopen Alcatraz—a visible symbol of law and order—as a federal prison for the country’s most dangerous criminals.

“Rebuild, and open Alcatraz!” Trump wrote in all caps in a May 4 post on Truth Social.

“For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering,” Trump wrote.

“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 he has asked several government agencies to investigate whether it is possible and affordable to reopen the prison on Alcatraz Island.

The current facility is 960,000 square feet, nearly the size of 17 football fields.

“We can share that, as an agency, we are moving forward, evaluating, and formulating the actions necessary to reopen and operate [U.S. Prison] Alcatraz,” the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) told The Epoch Times in an email.

Bureau Director William Marshall III said in the email that the agency will do everything possible to support the president’s plan, but would not discuss the project further.

The NPS did not respond to emails from The Epoch Times asking for comment.

On June 17, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum visited Alcatraz to explore the possibility of reopening the prison as a high-security facility.

The Department of the Interior manages Alcatraz as a national historic site and tourist attraction through the NPS.

During their visit, Burgum and Bondi walked the mid-19th-century prison, visiting the dock, power station, and industry building.

They also toured the cell block that housed Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly, and viewed an overlook of the Parade Grounds onsite.

In a statement, Burgum expressed his support for the Trump administration’s goal to reverse what it views as damage to public safety caused by the prior administration.

Burgum pointed to a surge in violent crime, property crime, and robberies that he attributed to previous policies and state leaders who, he said, allowed offenders to walk free.

The visit to Alcatraz shows the current administration is focused on enforcing laws and keeping violent criminals off the streets, Burgum said.

The trip was made just weeks after the July 4 signing of Trump’s landmark One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which includes $1.7 trillion for border security, energy development, and proposed tax cuts.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) on May 5 expressed support for the president’s plan and said he favors the highest-security prisons on both coasts, at Rikers Island in New York City and Alcatraz Island.

In 2019, New York City announced plans to shut down all jails on Rikers Island by 2027 and replace them with smaller facilities.

Currently, about 7,000 people are being detained in New York City’s jails.

Democrats Object

Several California Democrats argue that reopening Alcatraz as a prison would be too costly and impractical.

“I told Secretary Burgum last month that not a single serious person at the National Park Service—from superintendents to janitors—thinks this is a good idea,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said in a statement.

“It would also be a financial boondoggle—not just the massive amount it would cost to reopen Alcatraz as a prison, but all the money and goodwill the park service would lose from closing one of America’s most popular tourist destinations.”

Each year, more than 1.2 million people visit Alcatraz, generating more than $60 million in revenue.

The California Office of Tourism did not respond to emails requesting information about the local economic impact of the conversion project and potential loss of revenue, should it move forward.

The Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, which opposes Trump’s plan, said that converting Alcatraz back into a prison would undo years of progress and overlook what the site means today as a tourism “powerhouse.”

“The island is working—not as a prison, but as a national park that brings history, nature, and people together in a way few places can,” the agency said.

“Protecting Alcatraz means protecting a global site of reflection, where people come to learn and grow,” said Christine Lehnertz, the group’s president and CEO.

“If we lose that, we lose more than a landmark—we lose an opportunity to do better.”

On July 17, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the president’s plan for Alcatraz his “stupidest initiative yet.”

“Should reason not prevail and Republicans bring this absurdity before Congress, Democrats will use every parliamentary and budgetary tactic available to stop the lunacy,” Pelosi said in response to Burgum and Bondi’s visit.

Rising Costs

There are currently 122 federal prisons located throughout the United States.

The BOP would not discuss potential project costs or confirm an unofficial report that stated it would take $2 billion to bring Alcatraz back into service as a prison.

A January 1999 study by the National Institute of Corrections, part of the Department of Justice, found that running a supermax prison is especially expensive and difficult.

The agency reported that during the 1990s, prison costs increased significantly due to the rise in inmate population, the construction of additional prisons, and the hiring of more staff.

The study found that as the share of a jurisdiction’s budget dedicated to corrections increases, “so does attention to correctional operations. This has often resulted in a reduction of critical services.”

The cost to build a high-security prison depends on its design and capacity.

The DC Policy Center, for example, says building a new prison for 4,000 to 6,000 inmates in Washington could cost between $400 million and $750 million.

Running the prison each year would cost between $180 million and $230 million.

In fiscal 2022, the BOP reported that the average daily population in high-security prisons exceeded 7,400, with an annual operating cost of $378 million.

Today, there is only one supermax federal prison remaining in the Bureau of Prisons system: ADX Florence, located in Florence, Colorado.

History Behind Bars

“For thousands of years, Alcatraz was a lonely island, occasionally visited, perhaps, by Ohlone and Miwok Indians,” according to a tourist guide from the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.

“Between the time the Spanish settled the Bay Area (1776) and the Yankees took over from the Mexicans (1846), the island was noted on maps but was otherwise unused,” the guide states.

In 1850, a military board proposed using Alcatraz for military defense with more than 400 soldiers stationed on the island.

By the time the Civil War broke out in 1861, Alcatraz had 111 cannons, gun placements, a citadel, a sally port, and other fortifications.

In 1907, the army abandoned Alcatraz as a military base, though its legacy as a prison was already well established, having once confined captured Confederate soldiers.

Inside the prison’s “dungeon,” large holding cells reveal life during a harsher era, when World War I conscientious objectors spent long periods in darkness and survived on bread and water.

Life on Alcatraz in the 1930s was already harsh, with the island isolated by the icy, churning waters of the Pacific Ocean.

The prison bristled with reinforced iron bars, new watchtowers, and strict rules. Guards patrolled and checked on prisoners a dozen times each day.

On Aug. 11, 1934, Alcatraz reopened its gates as a federal prison, reserved for those convicted of the most heinous crimes, including murder, rape, and armed robbery.

The maximum security prison soon became known as “The Rock” and inspired several Hollywood movies.

The Rock’s treacherous offshore location earned it a reputation as nearly escape-proof.

Between 1934 and 1963, when the prison closed, 36 men attempted 14 escapes, and six were shot to death. Nearly all were caught or did not survive.

Of the 14 escape attempts during the federal-prison years, none caught the public’s attention like the June 1962 breakout, when Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers, John and Clarence, disappeared into the dark waters surrounding the island.

“They used raincoats as floatation devices and were presumably bound for San Francisco. Although their bodies were never found, they are assumed to have drowned,” according to the Parks Conservancy.

Alcatraz could house up to 450 inmates, yet its population rarely exceeded 260.

Each prisoner was locked in a stark cell measuring 10 by 4.5 feet, with a bunk, sink, toilet, and shelving.

Inside the prison, footsteps echo among rows of prison cells in areas with names such as Times Square and Broadway.

The old prison infirmary reflects the crude medical tools and techniques of the time.

End of an Era

After 29 storied years, Alcatraz shut its doors for good on March 21, 1963, as soaring maintenance and operating costs—nearly triple those of other federal prisons—finally sealed its fate.

The prison required between $3 million and $5 million in repairs and maintenance in 1962 to remain operational, according to the BOP.

After that, the prison stood deserted, its silent halls sparking the imagination of dreamers and planners.

Suggestions ranged from transforming it into a monument for the United Nations, raising a West Coast Statue of Liberty, or reinventing it as a shopping center or grand hotel.

In 1972, nearly a decade after the prison closed, the NPS assumed control of Alcatraz Island and opened it to the public for recreation. It was designated a historic site in 1976 and received National Historic Landmark designation in 1986.

The prison’s main features include a historic dock, barracks, an apartment building for guards and staff, the warden’s house, a guardhouse, and a sally port.

The island also holds the post exchange and officers’ club, a former military schoolhouse, a lighthouse, and neat row gardens.

The original water tower still stands above the landscape. Many buildings are marked by green fungus, crumbling brick and mortar, and bird droppings, their walls scarred and weathered by the elements.

In 2002, the NPS completed a study on the environmental impact of the $500 million Alcatraz Island Historic Preservation and Safety Program.

The program focused on visitor safety through dock repairs, cellhouse reinforcement, improved earthquake safety, water tower repairs, and fuel line replacement.

Alcatraz 2.0

The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) said it rejects Trump’s proposal to transfer control of Alcatraz from the NPS to federal authorities on historical grounds.

“The administration has made it clear they’re willing to ignore the value of our national parks and the rich history, culture, and legacy they protect,” said Kristen Brengel, NPCA’s senior vice president of government affairs.

“Congress now faces a choice to either stand up for Alcatraz and the stories it holds or allow our national parks to be sacrificed for political gain.”

Some critics of the president’s plan argue that it’s also unclear how Alcatraz 2.0 would impact projects that are already underway.

In July 2024, the National Park Service awarded structural engineers Tutor Perini a $48.6 million contract to address deterioration and structural weaknesses at the Alcatraz main prison building.

Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates has also been involved with structural repairs at the Alcatraz cellhouse since the 1990s.

The company stated on its website that the Alcatraz cellhouse is “extremely vulnerable” to corrosion caused by exposure to salty air due to its location in the middle of San Francisco Bay.

In 2024, the National Park Service announced that a repair project to address earthquake-related issues at the main prison building would receive $63.6 million from the Great American Outdoors Act.

Upon completion in the fall of 2027, it will enhance the building’s capacity to withstand earthquakes and mitigate the impacts of age and weather.

In the meantime, prisons director Marshall said the BOP is assessing the president’s plan and determining next steps for Alcatraz.

“We will be actively working with our law enforcement and other federal partners to reinstate this very important mission,” Marshall said.

“We look forward to restoring this powerful symbol of law, order, and justice.”