President Donald Trump announced his intention to reopen Alcatraz, the legendary prison in San Francisco’s Bay Area closed for over sixty years and long since turned into a tourist attraction. Trump stated the opinion that when the nation was more serious, it did not hesitate to lock up the worst criminals.
In a post on Truth Social, the former president described the plan as a response to the deterioration of public safety and explained that he wanted to designate the island for what he called America’s most ruthless and violent criminals.
The proposal includes a substantial reconstruction and expansion of the facility, in coordination with the Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Justice, the FBI, and Homeland Security. Trump argued that the country was being held hostage by what he referred to as thugs and timid judges who were preventing the deportation of criminals who had entered the country illegally. In his view, the new Alcatraz would symbolize a return to a “more serious” America.
However, the announcement triggered a wave of criticism. The office of California Governor Gavin Newsom dismissed the proposal as a distraction, intended to divert attention from economic hardships caused by tariffs and from legal controversies surrounding deportation efforts. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also dismissed the idea, considering it unserious, while Democratic State Senator Scott Wiener described the plan as unbalanced. He emphasized that Trump seemed to be aiming to turn Alcatraz into what he called an American gulag.
Beyond the political rhetoric, the proposal to reopen the prison raises a host of practical concerns. The former penitentiary is now managed by the National Park Service, which last year allocated nearly $50 million for securing and restoring the iconic complex, with work ongoing through 2027. Historian and author John Martini recalled that the facility was closed in 1963 partly due to severe structural deficiencies and argued that bringing it up to modern standards would be economically unfeasible.
Martini maintained that the facility was far from meeting current standards for detention and added that the site had over time taken on a symbolic role: not only as a place of incarceration, but also as a stage for civil rights struggles, including the occupation by Native American activists between 1969 and 1971. He questioned, with clear concern, what would become of all that history if the island were turned back into a prison.
Moving beyond today’s political clashes and polemics, Alcatraz remains one of the most emblematic sites in American history. Its transformation from a military fortress to a federal penitentiary, active from 1934 to 1963, forged a collective image of extreme isolation and punitive harshness, intensified by the presence of infamous criminals like Al Capone and legendary tales of impossible escapes. After its closure, the island became a symbol of collective memory and, as a designated national historic site, now welcomes millions of visitors every year.
Beyond these considerations there is also the fact that Alcatraz Island generates about $60 million in annual revenue from visitor services. The site receives approximately 1.6 million visitors each year, making it one of San Francisco’s most popular and lucrative attractions. The revenue supports park operations, maintenance, and historical preservation, ensuring that visitors can continue exploring its rich history.
