As writes Reuters, the proposal is in line with President Donald Trump’s call last year to once again turn the popular San Francisco Bay Area tourist destination into a prison.
The request was included in the draft budget released by the White House to fund the government for fiscal year 2027. Such spending requests are typically treated as proposals by lawmakers in Congress.
The budget provides funds for the Federal Bureau of Prisons to cover the first year of transforming Alcatraz into a “state-of-the-art secure prison.”
Recall that in May, Trump announced on social media that he had directed the Bureau of Prisons, the U.S. Department of Justice and other agencies to open a significantly expanded and remodeled Alcatraz “to house America’s most violent and dangerous offenders.”
The iconic rock island prison was closed in 1969 and is operated by the National Park Service.
Alcatraz was opened in 1934. It was considered America’s safest prison, given its island location, icy waters and strong currents. No successful escapes have been officially recorded, although five inmates are believed to be “missing and probably drowned.”
