President Donald Trump‘s proposal to reopen and expand the historic Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary is facing scrutiny over the potential cost of the plan.

In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said the former prison located in San Francisco, which operated from 1934 to 1963 and once held notorious criminals like Al Capone, would be “substantially enlarged and rebuilt” to house “America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders.”

Why It Matters

The proposal marks a significant escalation in Trump’s controversial detention policies, coming amid his administration’s disputed use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport hundreds of individuals to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT).

His action targeted the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Trump has repeatedly and falsely claimed that the United States is under invasion by criminal immigrants.

The announcement follows Trump’s expressed willingness to send American citizens to foreign prisons and his directive to open a detention center at Guantanamo Bay for up to 30,000 of the “worst criminal aliens.”

What To Know

Trump’s push to reopen Alcatraz as a maximum-security prison has triggered a wave of backlash over the steep financial and logistical challenges the project would face.

CNN’s Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins noted that the prison was originally shut in the 1960s because it was three times more expensive to operate than other federal facilities, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

One user on X remarked that the plumbing alone would take years to update, calling the project likely impossible. The Democratic policy analyst who uses the handle Maine Wonk on X estimated that rebuilding and reopening Alcatraz could cost between $235 million and $370 million upfront, with annual operating costs of up to $60 million.

Social media personality Brian Krassenstein, who recently toured the facility, called it “the dumbest proposal” he’s heard, citing structural decay, earthquake retrofitting, and costly logistics.

“Everything, water, food, fuel, must be barged in, and raw sewage barged out,” he wrote, estimating annual costs at $70 million–$75 million—roughly three times that of a comparable mainland prison.

KCBS Radio reporter Doug Sovern raised another concern: the potential blow to San Francisco tourism and the National Park Service, both of which rely heavily on the island as a historic landmark.

Conservative commentator Eric Daugherty pushed back against critics, accusing Democrats of hypocrisy for suddenly expressing concern over government spending. He argued that if the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had saved billions, investing in a prison for violent offenders shouldn’t spark outrage.

X account WarClandestine defended Trump’s plan on symbolic grounds, arguing that the value of Alcatraz lies not in cost efficiency but in deterrence.

“Trump rebuilding Alcatraz is not about operating a cost-efficient supermax prison. It’s about creating an iconic deterrent to make criminals know that law and order is back,” the account posted.

​Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, located on an island in San Francisco Bay, was constructed between 1910 and 1912 as a U.S. Army military prison at a cost of $250,000—equivalent to approximately $7.8 million today. The facility was later transferred to the Federal Bureau of Prisons in 1934, becoming a maximum-security federal prison.

Operating Alcatraz proved to be significantly more expensive than other federal prisons. In 1959, the daily per capita cost at Alcatraz was $10.10, compared with $3.00 at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, making it nearly three times more costly to operate. This high expense was largely due to the island’s isolation, which necessitated that all supplies, including food, water, and fuel, be transported by boat. For instance, nearly one million gallons of fresh water had to be barged to the island each week.​

By the early 1960s, the prison required an estimated $3 million–$5 million in restoration and maintenance work just to remain operational. Considering these escalating costs, the federal government decided it was more economical to close Alcatraz and build a new institution elsewhere. Consequently, Alcatraz was officially closed on March 21, 1963.

Today, Alcatraz Island serves as a national historic site managed by the National Park Service, attracting over a million visitors annually.

A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons told the Associated Press in a statement that the agency “will comply with all Presidential Orders.”

What People Are Saying

Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post: “REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ! For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering.”

He continued: “When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals and keep them far away from anyone they could harm. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.

“We will no longer be held hostage to criminals, thugs, and Judges that are afraid to do their job and allow us to remove criminals, who came into our Country illegally.”

He concluded: “The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

CNN Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins on X: “Trump says he wants to reopen Alcatraz as a functioning prison for the most violent offenders. As the Bureau of Prisons notes on its website, it was closed in the 1960s because it was three times more expensive to operate than other prisons.”

X user Turnbull said: “Wait until they figure out how expensive it will be to remodel, modernize and operate Alcatraz. The plumbing alone would take years to upgrade and I’m not even sure if it’s possible. It will never happen.”

Democratic strategist The Maine Wonk said on X: “Reopening and rebuilding Alcatraz as a prison would cost approximately $235–370 million upfront and $40–60 million annually to operate. Where you at @DOGE?”

Social media personality Brian Krassenstein wrote on X: “Trump just instructed the DOJ to re-open and rebuild Alcatraz. I toured “The Rock” with my wife last year and this is, hands down, the dumbest proposal I’ve heard.

“Here’s why: Price tag straight out of a Bond movie. At least $175-250M just to shore up crumbling concrete, retrofit for earthquakes, and install 21st-century security tech. Operating costs that never stop bleeding. Everything, water, food, fuel, must be barged in, and raw sewage barged out. That pushes the annual budget to 3× a comparable mainland prison, roughly $70 – 75 M every single year.

“Saltwater eats money. Constant bay spray corrodes metal and concrete; maintenance is a never-ending, gold-plated headache. Reopening Alcatraz isn’t “tough on crime.” It’s tough on taxpayers, and easy on rust.”

KCBS Radio political reporter Doug Sovern said on X: “President Trump says he is ordering the reopening of Alcatraz as a maximum security prison. That would cost the government a fortune and be a major blow to San Francisco tourism and the National Park Service, neither of which he seems to care much about anyway.”

Assistant News Director at Florida’s Voice News Eric Daugherty said on X: “Wow. Suddenly, every Democrat is concerned about operational costs, efficiency and the budget. Now that Trump said he wants to reopen Alcatraz prison, I am seeing FLOODS of Democrats saying “it’s going to be too expensive! The building materials, cleaning it up, installing new technology!”

“Do Democrats hear themselves? They’ve been railing against DOGE for 100 days for saving us BILLIONS OF DOLLARS – not in budget cuts, but in places money should not have been spent in the first place – and they’re concerned about investing a billion dollars or so in a prison for our most heinous offenders? Unserious people.”

X account WarClandestine wrote: “For those of you concerned about the supposed cost to operate Alcatraz… You fail to recognize the value of a deterrent. Alcatraz was turned from a military prison, to a federal civilian prison in 1934, mostly to combat organized crime. The small cells and harsh conditions were notorious and feared, which served as a deterrent to strike fear into criminals, and hopefully prevent them from engaging in organized crime in the first place.

“In addition, the island prison was essential to isolate influential gangsters from mainland prisons, where they could more easily bribe guards and carry out criminal activity from behind bars. Trump rebuilding Alcatraz is not about operating a cost-efficient supermax prison. It’s about creating an iconic deterrent to make let criminals know that law and order is back, and that those committing heinous crimes on our soil… a terrible fate awaits you. Alcatraz’s value is not just in harboring high-profile criminals, but in preventing crimes before they happen, by making an example of the worst of the worst.”

What Happens Next

The Alcatraz proposal would require navigating substantial obstacles, including transferring management from the National Park Service, securing congressional funding, and addressing the same logistical challenges that led to the original closure.