Donald Trump Wants $152 Million to Rebuild Alcatraz as ‘State-of-the-Art Secure Prison,’ More Than 6 Decades After It Closed

The Trump administration has officially moved to transform Alcatraz Island from a National Historic Landmark back into a high-security federal penitentiary. In its fiscal year 2027 budget proposal released Friday, the White House requested $152 million from Congress to initiate the restoration of the infamous San Francisco Bay site.

The funding request marks the first concrete legislative step in a plan President Donald Trump, 79, has championed since May 2025. The administration intends to rebuild the facility into a “state-of-the-art secure prison” designed to house the nation’s “most ruthless and violent offenders.”

The $152 million allocation is designated for the first year of construction and represents a fraction of a broader $5 billion request for the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Administration officials stated the surge in funding is necessary to address “crumbling detention facilities” across the United States.

Alcatraz originally shuttered in 1963 due to astronomical maintenance costs and structural decay. At the time of its closure, the BOP noted the island facility was three times more expensive to operate than any other federal prison due to its isolation in the San Francisco Bay.

The proposal faces immediate and fierce opposition from California lawmakers and San Francisco officials. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who represents the district, vowed to block the funding in Congress.

“Rebuilding Alcatraz into a modern prison is a stupid notion that would be nothing more than a waste of taxpayer dollars and an insult to the intelligence of the American people,” Pelosi said in a statement.

Local officials expressed concern over the loss of a primary tourism engine. Currently operating as a museum, Alcatraz draws millions of visitors annually, generating significant revenue for the regional economy.

President Trump has framed the reopening of “The Rock” as a symbolic and practical return to “law and order” rhetoric. In previous statements, he argued that modern society has become too lenient on “serial offenders” and that Alcatraz represents a time when the U.S. was a “more serious Nation.”

The administration accelerated its plans last July when former Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum conducted a formal site survey of the island.

Despite the administration’s momentum, the project faces significant logistical hurdles. The facility has not housed inmates in over six decades, and current assessments show severe water damage, rusted infrastructure, and deteriorating masonry. Moving forward requires not only Congressional approval but also a massive environmental and engineering overhaul of the historic site.