President Donald Trump has voiced an intention to revert Alcatraz Island back into a federal prison. This comes several decades after the historic island fortress was transitioned into a tourist hotspot due to the rising costs of detaining criminals. Located off the coast of San Francisco, Alcatraz was previously home to infamous criminals like Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly, as well as others deemed too dangerous to be incarcerated elsewhere.
Enveloped often in fog and surrounded by herons and gulls, Alcatraz has been featured in movies starring actors such as Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, and Clint Eastwood. Trump has suggested that Alcatraz, which is currently managed by the National Park Service, should once again serve as a detention center for the “most ruthless and violent” criminals of America. “In bygone days when we were a more serious nation, we ensured that the most dangerous offenders were securely kept at bay. That is how it should be,” Trump remarked on his Truth Social platform.
However, opposition has arisen from figures like California Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener, who criticized Trump’s proposal by asserting it would result in a “domestic gulag right in the middle of San Francisco Bay.”
Alcatraz Island is visible from the Golden Gate Bridge and is renowned for its 1934-1963 tenure as a federal prison, though its history predates that period. In 1850, President Millard Fillmore designated the island for public use and it soon became a military installation, even housing Confederate prisoners during the Civil War. As the 1930s approached, the decision was made to use Alcatraz as a secure prison location. “The government sought a remote site that would minimize outside communication for those incarcerated within its confines,” the park service explained. Although Alaska was considered, Alcatraz’s convenient availability made it the selected site for a high-security prison.
Nevertheless, Alcatraz’s remote nature contributed to its closure. Essential items, from food to fuel, had to be ferried in, and fresh water required a massive weekly supply that stretched logistics. In 1959, housing a prisoner in Alcatraz cost $10.10 per day, far more than the $3.00 at Atlanta’s federal prison, prompting decisions to build new prisons elsewhere.
Despite its isolated location, escape attempts were frequent. According to the FBI, 36 men tried 14 times to flee the island, but nearly all were unsuccessful due to the cold waters and strong currents of the bay. The story of the 1962 escape by John Anglin, Clarence Anglin, and Frank Morris inspired the 1979 film “Escape from Alcatraz,” featuring Eastwood. Despite extensive investigation, the FBI found no credible evidence that the escapees survived. “The Rock,” a 1996 film starring Connery and Cage, depicted a fictional rescue mission set on Alcatraz.
Alcatraz transitioned into the Golden Gate National Recreation Area a decade after its closure and opened to the public in 1973. Today, the island hosts over a million visitors arriving by ferry each year. Visitors pay $47.95 for an adult ticket to explore the cells once occupied by prisoners. Rob Frank, a visitor from Missouri, shared his skepticism, stating, “It didn’t seem very humane to me, with cells stacked and everything made of concrete. It was rather dark.”
In 1969, largely college student-held groups of Native Americans occupied Alcatraz for 19 months, asserting historical claims to the land until federal intervention in 1971 ended the occupation. Historian Troy Johnson wrote of this significant event, stating that the Native Americans aimed to awaken awareness about Indigenous Americans’ plights and to push for Indian self-determination.