Trump seeks $152M to rebuild Alcatraz as ‘state-of-the-art secure prison’

President Trump is requesting $152 million from Congress to reopen Alcatraz as a federal prison for violent offenders, according to his fiscal year 2027 budget proposal submitted to the Bureau of Prisons. The historic San Francisco Bay penitentiary, which closed in 1963, has become a tourist attraction and National Historic Landmark in the decades since. The Trump administration's push to rebuild and modernize the facility reflects broader efforts to expand federal prison capacity and address what the White House views as inadequate detention resources for dangerous inmates. The proposal will require congressional approval and faces potential opposition from California lawmakers and local officials given the site's protected status and location in a densely populated area. The budget request marks one of the administration's most ambitious criminal justice infrastructure projects to date.