Why We Shouldn’t Bring Back Alcatraz

As part of his budget for 2027, President Trump has proposed allocating $152 million to reopen the infamous Alcatraz prison in San Francisco Bay, which was decommissioned more than 60 years ago due to steep operating costs and logistical challenges. During a visit to Alcatraz Island last July, then–Attorney General Pam Bondi had floated the idea of reopening the facility to hold “violent prisoners” or “illegal aliens,” but critics dismissed it as a publicity stunt. Now that the president has included the proposal in his budget request, it’s worth unpacking the plan’s many pitfalls — and highlighting much-needed improvements to federal prisons that Congress should fund instead.

For starters, reopening Alcatraz is simply unnecessary. The United States doesn’t need more federal prison beds amid a steady decline in the federal prison population. Today, 153,874 people are held in federal prisons, down 30 percent from a 2013 peak of 219,298. That drop is partly explained by pandemic-era emergency efforts to cut prison populations and reduce overcrowding. Additionally, significant reforms, including the First Step Act and changes to federal sentencing guidelines, have allowed some individuals to gain early release through programming credits, by giving judges greater flexibility to avoid strict mandatory minimums in some cases, and by retroactively updating drug sentencing laws.

Setting that aside, Alcatraz should not be anyone’s first choice for expanding federal prison capacity. It was closed for a reason. Namely, operating costs were three times higher than for any other federal prison. The obvious explanation? To steal a real estate adage: location, location, location. Maintaining a prison on an island more than a mile off the coast means all personnel and supplies, including fresh water, food, and fuel, must arrive by boat. And any waste from the prison must be transported back across the bay for disposal. It amounts to a barbed-wire-enclosed money pit.

Reviving Alcatraz today is even harder to justify given that the facility hasn’t served as a prison in more than 60 years. It has been run by the National Park Service since the 1970s and is not equipped to safely and humanely house people. The government would need to clear numerous hurdles to make the crumbling prison habitable. The island’s electrical system would need to be completely rebuilt, as the current grid lacks the capacity to serve staff and incarcerated people. The government would also need to contend with the asbestos and lead paint contaminating the prison site. And let’s not forget that construction materials and workers would need to be ferried across the bay to the notorious Rock, adding expense and inconvenience to these major renovation projects.

All that is assuming the government could secure the necessary approvals for this work in the first place. Because Alcatraz Island is managed by the National Park Service, Congress would first need to approve the transfer of the land to the Bureau of Prisons. Further complicating matters, Alcatraz is a protected national historic landmark, so any changes to the site would be subject to years of review.

It should go without saying that spending millions of taxpayer dollars to bring a derelict 96-year-old prison up to code — to produce new prison beds that the country doesn’t need — would be an enormous misuse of resources. Such a waste would be especially egregious given the Bureau of Prisons’ actual, urgent needs.

Federal prisons have long struggled with deteriorating infrastructure. As former Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters explained, “Over a third of these facilities are over 50 years old and over half are over 30 years old.” During visits to three facilities, the Justice Department’s inspector general found “cracking and separating concrete, housing units with no air conditioning, failed equipment, small water leaks in ceilings, outdated albeit operational temperature controls, and a roof with soft spots and blisters.” A 2022 report by the inspector general estimated that modernizing and repairing aging federal prisons would cost almost $2 billion.

Instead of pouring millions into a red tape–choked pipe dream to revive a federal prison that the government had the good sense to retire 63 years ago, Congress and the president should focus on realistic ways to improve public safety and ensure better outcomes for those in federal custody. Beyond the long list of infrastructure repairs highlighted by the inspector general, other government reports provide plenty of suggestions for where to start.

The Bureau of Prisons is struggling to staff the nation’s 122 existing federal prisons, a problem that would be compounded if it had a new facility to manage. The bureau currently has thousands of vacancies — almost 6,000 fewer staff than its authorized level. This follows a nationwide trend of correctional officer shortages, with these roles often involving low pay and long hours. The issue has been exacerbated as federal correctional officers have left their positions over the last year to join U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is offering higher pay and $50,000 signing bonuses.

A recent report by the Government Accountability Office — Congress’s independent watchdog that monitors how public funds are spent — found that the Bureau of Prisons lacks the capacity to accommodate everyone in federal custody who is eligible to transfer to a residential reentry center, also known as a halfway house. Congress should fund more of these centers, which have been shown to decrease the likelihood of formerly incarcerated people returning to prison. Lawmakers should also finally fund the Federal Prison Oversight Act, a bipartisan law passed in 2024 to establish independent oversight of the Bureau of Prisons. So far, however, Congress has not funded the ombudsman required by the law, meaning the federal penitentiary system continues to suffer from insufficient oversight.

The Justice Department could help fill this oversight gap. As it did under previous administrations, the department should investigate inhumane conditions present in many federal and state prisons that violate constitutional protections for incarcerated people. For example, shortly before the former attorney general’s July 2025 visit to Alcatraz, the DOJ dropped a lawsuit against Louisiana and its department of corrections in which it claimed that the state habitually kept people behind bars for weeks or months after their prison sentences ended, in violation of the 14th Amendment. Probing and punishing such practices would be a better use of the department’s authority than scouting out notoriously inhospitable prisons to reopen.

Congress and the president could also look to the states for inspiration on prison reforms. As documented in a recent Brennan Center report, states across the country are implementing innovative practices to make prisons safer and better prepare people for release.

With so many better potential uses for taxpayer dollars, reopening Alcatraz would be unnecessary, impractical, and wasteful. Congress should disregard this “make Alcatraz great again” scheme and commit to the practical, proven solutions that would improve federal prison conditions for the people who live and work there.