Known for being tough on crime, Trump has often spoken about cracking down on lawlessness.
On May 4, he shared the next step in his plan — bringing back one of America’s most infamous prisons.
He announced his intentions to reopen the old San Francisco prison, Alcatraz, which was once reserved for the country’s most notorious criminals.
He also outlined the kind of individuals he believes should be locked up there if the prison is brought back to life.
He continued by saying: “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. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
It’s still unclear whether reopening Alcatraz is a top priority or how long it would realistically take to make it happen. But Trump did mention some of the steps he’s already taking to get the ball rolling.
He went on to say: “That is why, today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders.”
Originally, Alcatraz started out as a military fort used for coastal defense. It was later converted into a military prison in the early 1900s.
Eventually, during the 1930s, the Department of Justice took over and began using the island facility to house federal prisoners — including some of the most dangerous offenders of that time.
Running the facility cost almost three times as much as other federal prisons, likely due to the costs tied to maintaining an island-based institution.
Bringing Alcatraz back into operation as a working prison would require a serious financial investment, and there’s still no official timeline for if or when that might happen.
