The new director of the Federal Prison Bureau said the agent would “enthusiastically” pursue “all the ways to support and implement the” President’s agenda after President Donald Trump said he wanted to reopen Alcatraz as a prison “substantially enlarged and rebuilt”.
During the weekend, Trump posted on Social Truth that he directed the prison bureau, along with the Department of Justice, the FBI and DHS to reopen the facility.
“The Prison Bureau (BOP) will be enthusiastically pursuing all the ways to support and implement the President’s agenda,” BOP Director William K. Marshall III, who was appointed last month. “I have ordered an immediate assessment to determine our needs and the next step. USP Alcatraz has a rich history. We hope to restore this strong symbol of law, order and justice. We will actively work with our law enforcement and other federal partners to restore this very important mission.
“Only the idea I have,” Trump told reporters on Sunday night when asked what pushed his proposal. “And I think because of so many radical judges, they want to have trials for everyone, think, everyone in our country illegally, they come illegally. That means millions of trials, and that is very silly what happens.”
Alcatraz, which is located in the middle of San Francisco Bay, has not been an operational prison since 1963, according to national park services, which has maintained it as part of the Golden Gate national recreation area since 1972. More than 1 million people visited the island every year, according to BOP.
Alcatraz Island is depicted on May 4, 2025, in San Francisco Bay, California.
Noah Berger/AP
The facility, which was built as a fort to protect San Francisco’s bay and then converted to the army prison before holding federal prisoners, has accommodated famous prisoners such as the Al Capone mafia. Known as “The Rock,” the prison held on average 260 to 275 people, according to the prison bureau, and many inmates consider the living conditions in prison better than most at that time, the agency said.
It is estimated that it will require $ 3 million to $ 5 million for recovery and maintenance work to keep the prison open in addition to daily operating costs, which is far higher than other federal prisons. Alcatraz daily per capita fee in 1959 was $ 10.10 compared to $ 3.00 for federal prisons in Atlanta.
The new general inspector report estimates that the prison bureau facilities throughout the country need an improvement of $ 2 billion. BOP must close the facilities because of the terrible conditions in several prisons.
Elizabeth Neumann, a former Deputy Chief of Staff of DHS, told ABC News Live that BOP “already has several significant problems with existing prisons.”
“They have closed the numbers in recent years just because they have not been able to maintain it. So to try also reversing something that has not been operating for 60 years, and making it livable for people to be imprisoned will become a lot of money,” he said.
And not just the cost to prepare facilities to accommodate prisoners, he said.
“San Francisco is a very high living room. Federal employees are paid more if they work in high -cost areas. So it’s not a cost -effective solution,” Neumann said. “If you want to build a producer capacity, you will be more effective to just build something new in the country where the cost of living is lower.”
Neumann said he was not surprised by Trump’s advice. He said during his first government, he was often assigned to examine several proposals.
“He has many ideas. People will go and learn it, then they will return with facts and, and usually it is dropped at that stage,” he said.
DPR Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who represented the region in the congress, shot under Trump’s proposal.
“Alcatraz was closed as a federal prison more than sixty years ago. Now is a very popular national park and the main tourist attraction. The president’s proposal is not serious,” he posted on X.