After being closed on March 21, 1963, the infamous prison Alcatraz, also referred to as “the Rock,” was converted into one of San Francisco’s most popular tourist destinations, drawing 1.5 million tourists annually.
On May 4, however, President Donald Trump declared that he has requested that the Federal Bureau of Prisons reopen it after more than 60 years.
“America has been plagued for too long by vicious, violent, and repeat criminal offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering,” he wrote on Truth Social.
In the past, when we were a more serious country, we had no qualms about locking up the most dangerous offenders and keeping them far away from anyone they may hurt. That is how things should be.
“For this reason, today, I am ordering the Bureau of Prisons, in collaboration with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a significantly expanded and renovated ALCATRAZ.
In order to house America’s most vicious and violent criminals,” he added in his post. Alcatraz housed some of the most infamous criminals, including Al Capone, when it was in operation.
The decision to restore Alcatraz is part of a larger plan to alter how the United States detains federal convicts and immigration violators, and Trump is expressing his concerns with the “radical judges.”
Who he claims are dragging down deportations by demanding due process. For a very long time, Alcatraz has represented law and order. It has a long history, you know,” Trump remarked.
Reopening the infamous prison “would likely be an expensive and challenging proposition,” according to AP.
Particularly because the high maintenance costs and deteriorating infrastructure were among the factors that led to its closure.
A spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons stated that the organization “will comply with all Presidential Orders” in spite of this.
Since “[the prison] is now a very popular national park and major tourist attraction,” Democratic Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, whose district includes the prison, called Trump’s proposal “not a serious one.”Additionally, Trump ordered the construction of a new Guantanamo Bay detention center that would house up to 30,000 of the “worst criminal aliens,” as he put it.
