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Earlier this month, President Donald Trump vowed to reopen the infamous Alcatraz federal prison. In a post on truth social, he said that the updated site will house the most ruthless and violent offenders. While the structure of Alcatraz still exists, it’s currently a museum and national historic landmark, drawing more than a million visitors each year. To reopen it as a modern, operating prison would require extensive repairs amounting to several hundreds of millions of dollars.
So, how realistic is trump’s goal to bring it back? The island lockup first opened in 1934 and held gangsters like Al Capone and George ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly. It closed less than thirty years later in 1963 because operating costs were through the roof, according to the federal bureau of prisons. Since Alcatraz sits on a remote island in the bay of San Francisco, everything – from food to fuel to water – had to be hauled in. If the prison did reopen, this would likely be the case again.
So far, the current administration hasn’t released any specific plans or timelines, but reviving Alcatraz would require more than just a presidential decree. The federal government would have to take back control and navigate several environmental and legal obstacles. Due to climate change, the island is facing rising sea levels and potential coastal erosion. There’s currently no running water either.
Some critics are calling trump’s idea “a distraction” and ‘just another political stunt’ while others are saying it fits into his harsh immigration rhetoric. Regardless, if you’re planning to visit the landmark, you may want to book that trip to San Francisco sooner rather than later.
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