Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum visited the original Alcatraz on July 17 as part of President Donald Trump‘s plan to explore reopening the Real Alcatraz (in San Francisco Bay) facility. Bondi, who seems to be in the spotlight due to the backlash and media scrutiny she received for lying about Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged client list, praised the place, calling it “fantastic” and noting that no one is known to have ever escaped and survived.
Trump first suggested reopening Alcatraz in May. The visit comes after his administration opened a controversial detention center in Florida, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
The center is situated in the Everglades, an area home to lush green trees, plants, and reptiles. It has reportedly been built to house “the most vicious people on the planet,” better known as a place to keep the illegal immigrants who were arrested and detained after the President launched the mass deportation plan.
As per The Mirror, the real Alcatraz prison was the most expensive federal prison in the U.S., costing three times more to run than others because everything had to be brought in by boat. Due to its high costs ( $3 to $5 million, or $31 to $52 million), it shut down in 1963. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said, referring to the former prison, which currently serves as a popular tourist destination run by the National Park Service.
A great morning at Alcatraz with @SecretaryBurgum.
Under President Trump, we are Making America Safe Again. pic.twitter.com/oXOh1CrG6U
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) July 17, 2025
“It’s a federal property. Its original use was a prison,” Doug Burgum said in an interview with Fox News. “And so part of this would be to test the feasibility of returning it back to its original use.” Similarly, Pam Bondi also added that “It ( the original prison) could hold middle-class violent prisoners, it could hold illegal aliens. It could hold anything,” she told Fox News after her visit.
Both MAGA members had ambitious plans to reopen the notorious Alcatraz prison, which could hold the most dangerous criminals. The effort to reopen the prison came shortly after Donald Trump signed into law his much-awaited tax-cutting bill, “Big Beautiful Bill.” The bill includes tax cuts, essential changes to medical aid and other safety net programs, more money for border security, and support for oil and gas production.
Consequently, the U.S. government has allocated so much funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that it’s now the largest law enforcement agency in the country, bigger than each branch of the military and even surpassing the defense budgets of some entire nations. Therefore, Pam Bondi suggested that a reopened Alcatraz prison could be used to detain both undocumented immigrants and violent criminals.
“Alcatraz is the brand known around the world for being effective” at housing prisoners, says @SecretaryBurgum on Alcatraz Island.
“Its original use was a prison, and so part of this would be to test the feasibility about returning it back to its original use.” pic.twitter.com/u4fFldj0F9
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 17, 2025
The Alcatraz federal property is now a tourist attraction. As the Trump administration plans to move ahead with establishing the once high-security federal facility, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it “the stupidest initiative put forth” by the Trump administration.
“Reopening Alcatraz won’t make us tougher on crime,” Pelosi told MSNBC. “It’s not going to be used as a real prison anytime soon — and honestly, I don’t think it ever will.” she added. “This isn’t about public safety,” she said. “It’s about wasting taxpayer money on something that makes no real sense. The whole idea is just silly and irresponsible.”
House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi says reopening Alcatraz the “stupidest initiative put forth” by the Trump administration https://t.co/tQwJsq9zJK
— The Hill (@thehill) July 18, 2025
Meanwhile, the new “Alligator Alcatraz” has received criticism for its choice of location, which is prone to floods, and for how the detainees were reportedly kept. Built in just eight days, the compound reportedly includes 200 surveillance cameras, over 400 staff, and capacity for 3,000 detainees.
View this post on Instagram
Congressman Rep. Maxwell Frost condemned the condition of these detainees during a recent visit. It claimed that he was horrified to witness hundreds of grown men crammed into chain-link cages beneath white tents, each cage holding 32 people with only three toilets. In addition, the food portions served were terrible, and everyone seemed distressed as they cried for help.
Uh oh 👀
Trump has instructed the DOJ, FBI, DHS, and Bureau of Prisons, to “reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ”.
Trump is building a high-security prison, to house “America’s most ruthless and violent offenders”.
I like the direction we are moving in. pic.twitter.com/VtQ02D8LCd
— Clandestine (@WarClandestine) May 4, 2025
While most of the MAGA party members have deflected all the adverse claims, many others are concerned that America is heading towards fascism with these types of policies by Trump in place. Stay tuned for further updates about the project.
