WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump requested $152 million from Congress to begin rebuilding the prison on Alcatraz Island for operational use, including the funding in his proposed budget for fiscal year 2027. The budget proposal described the project as a state-of-the-art secure prison facility, though the $152 million covers only the first year of the project's costs, and the estimated duration and total cost have not been determined.

Trump directed the Bureau of Prisons to take up the task of converting Alcatraz into a prison. In remarks to reporters last year, Trump said, "It represents something very strong, very powerful, in terms of law and order." He also said, "It sort of represents something that's both horrible and beautiful, strong, and miserable." The president described the historic site as rusting and rotting and said he wanted to send the country's most ruthless and violent offenders to the island.

In July of last year, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum visited Alcatraz Island as part of the administration's evaluation of the site. The Bureau of Prisons said it had been working on a cost estimate and feasibility report to present to Congress following a site assessment with the National Park Service and work by engineers and planners on potential budgets and models. More recently, a spokesperson said the bureau had no new information to share about the project and no updates on whether assessments launched last year had been completed. The spokesperson said the bureau was "moving forward, evaluating, and formulating the actions necessary."

The proposal drew opposition from several members of Congress. Representative Nancy Pelosi said she would attempt to block the proposal by any means possible. "Alcatraz is a historic museum that belongs to the public, and San Franciscans will not stand for Washington turning one of our most iconic landmarks into a political prop," Pelosi said. Senator Patty Murray, vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the proposal would waste taxpayer money on Alcatraz while ignoring billions of dollars in repair-backlog needs for existing federal prisons.

The federal penitentiary on Alcatraz Island opened in 1934 to house particularly difficult prisoners and held inmates including Al Capone, according to the National Park Service. Several escape attempts from the prison were unsuccessful and attracted public attention. The prison closed in 1963 because it became too costly to operate. A group of Native American activists occupied the island from 1969 to 1971. In 1972, the island was designated a national recreation area under National Park Service management, and it opened to the public as a national park attraction in 1973. Alcatraz was later designated a National Historic Landmark.