President Donald Trump stated in a social media publication on Sunday that he is instructing the department of prisons to rebuild and reopen Alcatraz, the old infamous prison, as a place to “house the cruel and violent criminals in the United States.”
“I am instructing the department of prisons, along with the Justice Department, the FBI and the internal security, to reopen a substantially expanded and rebuilt Alcatraz, to house the most cruel and violent criminals in the United States,” the president wrote in a publication on the Social Truth.
“We will no longer hostage to criminals, bandits and judges who are afraid to do their work and allow us to remove criminals who have entered illegally in our country,” he added. “The reopening of Alcatraz will serve as a symbol of law, order and justice.”
The Republican told reporters how much he returned to the White House on Sunday (5) that it was “just an idea” that he had due to “radicalized judges” who want to ensure that deported immigrants have due process of law.
“I think that, as many of these radicalized judges want … each person who is illegally in our country will be tried,” he said, adding: “That would mean millions of judgments.”
Trump said that Alcatraz has been “a sad symbol, but it’s a symbol of law and order. And frankly there’s a long story, so I think we’ll do that.”
Alcatraz, located on an island on the coast of San Francisco, worked as a federal penitentiary for almost 30 years before closing in 1963 “because the institution was too expensive to continue operating,” according to the department of prisons.
It is estimated that between $ 3 million and US $ 5 million “were necessary only for restoration and maintenance works to keep prison open”, without including daily operating costs. “Alcatraz was almost three times more expensive to operate than any other federal prison,” according to the site.
Currently, it is operated by the National Parks Service as a tourist destination, receiving approximately 1.2 million visitors per year.
Alcatraz was designated as a national historical landmark in 1986. However, such designation “can be considered for withdrawal at the request of the owner or at the initiative of the Secretary of the Interior”, according to the National Parks Service.
There are certain conditions that make an eligible milestone for the loss of the designation, such as failing to “comply with the designation criteria; the qualities for which it was originally constituted have been lost or destroyed.”
THE CNN contacted the Interior Department, the National Parks Service and the Department of Prisons for comments.
Former House Mayor Nancy Pelin, California Democrat whose district includes Alcatraz, rejected the president’s proposal, calling her “little serious.”
“Alcatraz closed as a federal penitentiary for over sixty years. Now it’s a very popular national park and a major tourist attraction. The president’s proposal is not serious,” wrote the congressman on Sunday (5) at X.
The idea of reopening and reconstructing Alcatraz seems to have been launched by President Donald Trump Jr.’s son, days after his father’s inauguration for a second term, when the president signed a decree to send immigrants to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
“This is a great idea. Maybe we should reopen Alcatraz too?!?!
Now this is a great idea. Maybe We Should Also Reopen Alcatraz?!?! https://t.co/70dulzvhva
– Donald Trump Jr. (@donaldjtrumpjr) January 30, 2025
This content was originally published in Trump says he wants to reopen Alcatraz prison in the CNN Brazil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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