On Sunday, President Trump posted that he would like to reopen Alcatraz as a federal prison, specifically to detain illegal immigrants. Since it closed in 1973, the prison has become one of San Francisco’s main tourist attractions, as it hosts tours and museum guides almost every day.
“When I heard Trump wanted to reopen Alcatraz I almost couldn’t believe it,” sophomore Arria Smizu said. “It’s been a historic site for such a long time, and I think of it as one of the most recognizable parts of San Francisco’s history.”
On a small island in the San Francisco bay, Alcatraz was first used as a military base and light house in the early 1850s to protect the entrance to the bay along with Fort Point. In 1934, it was converted into a high security prison to house some of the country’s worst criminals, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Because of an upsurge in crime in the 1920s and 1930s, the U.S. created the prison to detain criminals and show the public that they were serious about putting an end to violent crime. Throughout its time in operation, Alcatraz housed some of America’s most famous criminals, such as Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly.
“Even though the idea of Alcatraz seems crazy at first, I can see where they’re coming from by making a place to hold illegal immigrants instead of sending them to worse places like El Salvador,” sophomore Bibiana Renazco-Magelssen said. “But when people said they didn’t like those options, I don’t think they meant to reopen a historic site like Alcatraz.”
President Trump has become increasingly interested in reopening the prison for illegal immigrants, especially after many questioned his recent use of prisons in El Salvador for deportees. Yesterday, Trump posted that, “the reopening of Alcatraz will serve as a symbol of law, order, and justice”, according to X. He went on further to say that he is involving many branches of government to expand the prison, which will end its use as a museum and national park.
While some view the reopening as a legitimate aspect of his political agenda, others are not taking the President seriously because the plan seems extremely ambitious and costly. The prison will cost an exorbitant amount of money to reestablish, and the main reason it shut down in 1973 was because of the high cost to keep it running. Another reason it shut down was because of the multiple escapes, as a swim to San Francisco is only about a mile.
Alcatraz makes $60 million dollars in revenue every year, hosting 1.6 million visitors annually, according to the National Park Service. The prison has become such a Bay Area phenomenon that it is hard for many people to even imagine it running again.
The idea of Alcatraz as a federal prison seems silly to many native San Fransicans, as events like the “escape from Alcatraz” swim are held each year and it has become one of the most iconic tourist attractions of the city, according to Smizu.
“Another reason why I was surprised is because Trump has been cutting down federal spending, and this would cost the government a lot of money,” Smizu said. “Overall, I’m not sure if he will go through with it, but having a federal prison right beyond our shores would be really crazy.”
