President Donald Trump floated the idea of renovating and reopening Alcatraz, but the negative reactions might sink it before it can swim. First of all, estimates for how much renovation and keeping it open will cost aren’t vibing with his previously stated goal of reducing wasteful government spending, especially when it’s currently making money as a tourist destination. The timing also raised eyebrows: Trump made the announcement after a weekend where multiple films about the prison aired, leading many to speculate whether his cinematic binge sparked the directive.
Trump announces he wants to reopen Alcatraz as a prison
On May 4, 2025, Trump made his announcement about Alcatraz on Truth Social and later repeated it on X.
“For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering,” he wrote. “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.”
He went on to direct the Bureau of Prisons to “reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt” version of Alcatraz with the help of the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security. The sudden directive, combined with others from the same day, led to questions among his critics.
Why does Trump want to reopen Alcatraz?
Aside from his stated reasoning about the “vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders” plaguing the U.S., folks on social media have floated theories about why Trump is suddenly interested in Alcatraz. His repeated reference to judges in his statements about the order could provide a clue.
“We will no longer be held hostage to criminals, thugs, and Judges that are afraid to do their job and allow us to remove criminals, who came into our Country illegally,” Trump said in his social media posts.
Later, when faced with questions from reporters on the White House lawn, the president said he was motivated by certain judges getting in the way of his plans.
“I guess because so many of these radicalized judges, they want to have trials for … every single person that’s in our country illegally,” he said.
This combined with the arrest of two judges last month could set some robe-wearing professionals on edge.
Others think his motivations are more silly than sinister. More than a couple of users noted that Escape from Alcatraz is currently on Netflix, and that The Rock was on FX on Saturday. For some, this theory lines up nicely with those foreign movie tariffs he announced on Sunday.
“My theory is he saw ‘escape from Alcatraz’ went ‘man they don’t make them like that anymore’ and then came up with two ideas at once,” wrote @jaycaspiankang.
“Within 30 minutes last night, Donald Trump ordered the reopening of Alcatraz and a 100% tariff on foreign-made movies,” said @MikeBeauvais. “We get it, man. You were watching The Rock.”
How much would reopening Alcatraz cost?
To start, the island prison would need significant renovations in order to meet safety standards required to house just a couple hundred inmates and ward off the salt water erosion that endangered the facility in the first place. People have been throwing around a lot of different estimates, but most land in the hundreds of millions. Democratic policy analyst @TheMaineWonk put the price tag at $235-370 million.
It’s difficult to say exactly how much the cost would be, but in 2024, San Francisco handed over close to $50 million to address deterioration issues and keep the prison safe as a tourist spot. Making it safe for hundreds to live around the clock would almost certainly cost more.
Fifty million also isn’t too bad when that tourism cash is pulling in $60 million per year. Prisons don’t make that kind of money, instead costing taxpayers millions to stay open. Alcatraz, as an island prison, shut down in 1963 in part due to its high operating costs. Ferrying food, supplies, inmates, and employees across the water every day costs a lot of money, apparently.
At the time, it cost $10.10 per day to house each inmate in Alcatraz, over three times the $3 per day at regular prisons. That’s $105.55 in today’s money.
X user @ArtCandee balked at these numbers, comparing the prison’s tourism revenue to the cost of a potential renovation.
“Donald Trump wants to reopen it?” they wrote. “While he’s simultaneously trying to send people to different countries to imprison them for less money?”
The jokes write themselves
As usual, many on the left are opposed to Trump’s latest venture.
“We need to reopen Alcatraz,” wrote @RepJackKimble, who is not a real government representative. “There has to be another place in our country for dangerous repeat criminals. The White House only has so much room.”
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