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President Donald Trump announced Sunday evening that he has ordered the reopening of Alcatraz, the legendary island prison off the coast of San Francisco.
In a statement on Truth Social, Trump said he is directing the Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security to “reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ” as a detention facility for America’s “most ruthless and violent offenders.”
Trump called the prison’s return a powerful symbol of justice, writing, “We will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.”
“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,” Trump wrote. “No longer will we tolerate these Serial Offenders who spread filth, bloodshed, and mayhem on our streets.”
Alcatraz, once home to infamous criminals like Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly, was shut down in 1963 due to deteriorating infrastructure and the high costs of operating a remote facility.
Trump dismissed such concerns, saying America must take serious measures to isolate the worst offenders from society, including foreign-born criminals who entered illegally.
The directive to revive the prison is part of Trump’s larger effort to crack down on violent crime in the U.S. He has already pushed to open a new detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to hold up to 30,000 illegal alien criminals and has clashed with federal courts over proposals to send gang members abroad for detention.
According to The Associated Press, a Bureau of Prisons spokesperson said the agency “will comply with all Presidential Orders” but did not comment on how the island, currently controlled by the National Park Service, would be transferred back into federal correctional use.
Bringing Alcatraz up to modern standards is expected to require major investments. But Trump sees it as a worthwhile price for restoring justice and public safety. “When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals,” Trump stated. “That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”