Trump Seeks $152 Million for Alcatraz Prison Restoration

(SeaPRwire) –   Democrats have criticized the plans to revive the infamous maximum-security complex in the San Francisco Bay as a “waste of taxpayer money”

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has asked Congress for $152 million to bring Alcatraz prison back into operation. Democrats have slammed the plans as “madness” and pledged to prevent their implementation.

Initially a fortress located on the island of the same name in the San Francisco Bay, the correctional center held prisoners from 1934 to 1963, when it was shut down due to high operational costs. Among those detained at Alcatraz were infamous criminals like mobster Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly. The prison was regarded as one of the nation’s most secure facilities, with no officially documented successful escapes.

Currently, Alcatraz is a key tourist destination in the region, managed by the National Park Service.

In a Friday-published request to Congress for the 2027 fiscal year, the Trump administration proposed to “reconstruct Alcatraz as a cutting-edge secure prison facility,” asking for “$152 million to cover the first year of project expenses.”

Trump first brought up the idea in a Truth Social post last May, writing: “When we were a more serious Nation in the past, we didn’t hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals and keep them far away from anyone they could harm. That’s how it’s supposed to be.”

“That is why today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, along with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a significantly expanded and rebuilt ALCATRAZ,” he stated at the time.

A few months later, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and former Attorney General Pam Bondi inspected the island, with the latter noting that the “excellent facility” could “house illegal immigrants.”

Reacting to the Trump administration’s latest funding request, former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi posted on X that the “proposal is clearly absurd and should be rejected outright.”

“I will work with my colleagues in Congress to use every available parliamentary and budgetary tactic to block this madness,” she promised.

Democratic Senator Scott Wiener, who represents San Francisco, also accused Trump of trying to ruin a “top tourist attraction to turn it back into a failed, extremely costly prison.”