U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum toured Alcatraz Island on Thursday, July 17, as part of President Donald Trump’s push to return the iconic site to its former role as a federal prison. After the visit, both officials posted photos to social media.
A Department of Justice spokesperson told CBS News that the two were there for a briefing on the facility and the surrounding area, as well as to evaluate plans to renovate and reopen the former prison.
A ‘symbol of Law, Order and JUSTICE’
During her tour on Thursday, Bondi discussed the idea of reopening Alcatraz during an interview with Fox News, saying the facility could house several types of prisoners.
“Alcatraz could hold the worst of the worst. It could hold middle-class violent prisoners, it could hold illegal aliens, it could hold anything,” Bondi said. “This is a terrific facility, needs a lot of work, but no one has been known to escape from Alcatraz and survive.”
In May, Trump announced his plans to reopen the prison on Truth Social. He said he had directed the Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security to “reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ to house America’s most ruthless and violent offenders.” Trump added that the restoration of the prison would be a “symbol of Law, Order and JUSTICE.”
Bureau of Prisons Director William K. Marshall II issued a statement that said his agency would “vigorously pursue all avenues to support and implement the President’s agenda,” and he instructed “an immediate assessment to determine our needs and next steps.”
‘Stupidest initiative yet’
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Alcatraz has had 14 escape attempts throughout its history, none of which were ever successful.
Critics have accused the Trump administration of using the plan as a political stunt to distract from controversial policies.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — whose district includes the island — called the proposed reopening of the prison “the Trump administration’s stupidest initiative yet.”
“It should concern us all that clearly the only intellectual resources the Administration has drawn upon for this foolish notion are decades-old fictional Hollywood movies,” Pelosi said.
“Make no mistake: this stupidity is a diversionary tactic to draw attention away from this Administration’s cruelest actions yet in their Big, Ugly Law, which takes away food from children and rips health care from millions to give tax breaks to billionaires,” she added. “It remains to be seen how this Administration could possibly afford to spend billions to convert and maintain Alcatraz as a prison when they are already adding trillions of dollars to the national debt.”
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie criticized the plan.
“There is no realistic plan for Alcatraz to host anyone other than visitors,” Lurie said. “If the federal government has billions of dollars to spend in San Francisco, we could use that funding to keep our streets safe and clean and help our economy recover.
“Alcatraz is a beloved destination bringing visitors and economic activity to San Francisco every year. Our city is on the rise—let’s keep it that way.”
Tourism impact vs. projected costs
According to the Park Service, Alcatraz draws roughly 1.6 million visitors per year and generates around $60 million annually in tourism revenue.
Reopening it as a prison would cost hundreds of millions of dollars immediately and up to $100 million annually to operate, according to estimates. A pair of Trump administration officials told Axios that the president hasn’t yet made a final decision on what to do with the island but offered three potential options.
The options include a supermax prison facility that would cost more than $2 billion. That effort would involve razing all the current infrastructure and building it from scratch. A third option would involve a smaller effort, costing $1 billion. That option would bring in private prison contractors to make a bid to build and operate a facility, which the source said is the least likely of the ideas. When Alcatraz shut down in 1963, the yearly operating expenses were more than three times that of any other federal prison, as noted by the Bureau of Prisons.
The history of Alcatraz
Originally an Army fort and military prison, authorities converted Alcatraz into a federal prison in 1934. It went on to house some of the nation’s most notorious criminals including Al Capone and “Machine Gun” Kelly.
However, not all inmates were infamous gangsters. Many were prisoners who authorities transferred from other facilities for repeatedly breaking rules. Officials touted the penitentiary as inescapable due to strong ocean currents and the frigid water surrounding the island. The Bureau of Prisons says 36 inmates tried to escape in 14 separate attempts. Of those, 23 were captured, 6 were killed, 2 drowned, and 5 were never found, with many believing they died during the escape.
Alcatraz closed in 1963 due to high costs and deteriorating conditions. In 1972, it became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It opened to the public the following year and has since undergone extensive renovations as a historic site and habitat preserve.
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Author: Craig Nigrelli
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