Alcatraz hasn't been a prison since 1963. It's a historic site that attracts 1.4 million tourists each year. But for Donald Trump, the place hasn't had its last word. In a post published on Truth Social, the former president announced that he wanted to reopen and expand the famous "rock" to house the country's most violent criminals.
A well-oiled PR stunt
Barely 24 hours later, he doubled down on it in front of the press: "Alcatraz represents something strong, something powerful. We need order in this country." Why this idea? Perhaps because an old movie was on TV the day before. A local TV station in Florida—Donald Trump's vacation home state—was actually airing Escape from Alcatraz, starring Clint Eastwood, just before the US president released his message. Coincidence? We'll let you be the judge.
To say the idea is causing some eyebrows is an understatement. Prison experts are adamant: reopening Alcatraz would be a logistical nightmare. "Frankly, I thought it was a joke," Hugh Hurwitz, former acting director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, told the BBC. "The buildings are falling apart, the cells are too small, there are no cameras, no fences." And then there's the crux of the matter: the budget. Already in 1963, running Alcatraz cost three times more than any other federal prison. Today, we're talking more than $500 per inmate per day, compared to $120 to $160 on average elsewhere. For a maximum capacity of 340 prisoners. We've seen more profitable options.
Not to mention the problems of water, electricity, and waste treatment... "At the time, wastewater was discharged directly into the bay," recalls Jolene Babyak, daughter of a former prison director. "Now, everything would have to be evacuated by boat. It's just unfeasible.""
Despite everything, Trump insists. And he's not the first to have had the idea. In the 1980s, the Reagan administration considered using the island to house Cuban refugees. The project was quickly abandoned. What's most striking is the announcement effect. Alcatraz evokes movies, gangsters, old-fashioned order. The White House tenant plays the symbol card, even if it means flirting with fantasy. As a former park ranger sums it up: "It's just an empty shell. But it's a shell that gets people talking.""
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