Trump seeking $152 million to reopen Alcatraz as a federal prison

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — President Donald Trump is asking Congress for $152 million to launch his plan to reopen Alcatraz as a federal prison.

The request can be found in the 2027 budget proposal that the White House released on Friday.

It includes money to cover the first year of project costs, but provides no further details about how the $152 million would be used.

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Trump first announced his plan in May 2025. That’s when he sent a Truth Social post directing departments “to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders.”

Last May, President Trump posted on social media that he wanted to reopen Alcatraz for “America’s most ruthless and violent offenders.”

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi visited the historic site last summer.

On Friday, President Trump released his budget proposal, which indicated that he wants Congress to green-light Alcatraz reopening as a prison.

It’s estimated that rebuilding the prison facility would cost about $2 billion.

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement Friday, saying: “Rebuilding Alcatraz into a modern prison is a stupid notion that would be nothing more than a waste of taxpayer dollars…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.”

A spokesperson for Governor Newsom also responded, saying: “This project is stupid and a waste of taxpayer money. In California, we are proud to meaningfully improve public safety.”

State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), responded in a statement saying: “Trump’s idiotic quest to sink $2 billion into ruining a globally popular tourist attraction is the epitome of waste, fraud, and abuse. Trump’s dementia continues to get the best of him. Making Alcatraz a prison again isn’t a thing, and we’re not going to let him turn Alcatraz into his newest gulag. Back off.”

According to the Bureau of Prisons website, Alcatraz was closed because it cost too much to operate. It was three times more expensive to operate than other prisons.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie also released a statement in July 2025, saying, “There’s no realistic plan to make Alcatraz reopen as anything other than the wonderful tourist attraction that it currently is.”

Alcatraz has been shuttered since 1963, when the federal government closed it down largely due to its high operational costs and crumbling infrastructure.

The tourist attraction currently generates about $60 million in annual revenue, according to the National Park Service. Refurbishing the island and building a new prison would cost at least a quarter of a billion dollars, according to estimates.

Many people we talked to on Friday say that the idea of transforming the tourist destination into a full-fledged federal prison seems far-fetched. Manuel Ponce and his family made it a point to see Alcatraz after traveling thousands of miles from Spain.

“It was very interesting, the visit,” said Manuel Ponce. “We wanted our kids to see it, especially the stories of the escape, and all the prisoners. It’s part of San Francisco history,” said Ponce.

The prison closed more than 60 years ago and is now a tourist attraction that is a big hit with visitors of all ages.

“We got to see the cells,” said Hunter Wylie of San Francisco.