Trump wants to reopen Alcatraz, the infamous prison island

AlArabiya English

President Donald Trump says he’s directing the US government to rebuild and reopen Alcatraz. But what do we know about the infamous island prison off the coast of San Francisco? Let’s take a look.

Transcript

00:00Trump wants to reopen Alcatraz. Yes, that Alcatraz. The prison island we see in movies.

00:06And he's serious. President Donald Trump said he's directing the U.S. government to rebuild

00:10and reopen Alcatraz, the infamous island prison off the coast of San Francisco,

00:15to lock up America's most vicious and violent offenders. Alcatraz hasn't housed a single

00:20prisoner since 1963. Back then, it shut down because it was falling apart and way too expensive

00:26to run. Everything from food, water, and fuel had to be brought in by boat. But it was and remains

00:32quite legendary. Surrounded by freezing waters and deadly currents, it was considered inescapable.

00:38The prison held America's most notorious criminals. That includes Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly,

00:44and even inspired movies like The Rock and Escape from Alcatraz. In the 29 years it operated,

00:4936 inmates tried to escape. Nearly all failed or drowned. But the mystery around three who vanished

00:55in 1962 and were never found still fuels conspiracy theories today. Alcatraz now is a national park

01:02and a top tourist attraction. But Trump says it should go back to being what it once was,

01:07a symbol of law and order. He's calling for a substantially enlarged version to house the

01:12country's worst criminals, even suggesting it could hold immigration detainees. Critics say it's legally

01:18questionable, would make for a logistical nightmare, and is financially unreasonable. But the Bureau of

01:24Prison says it'll follow presidential orders. So will Alcatraz hold prisoners again? We'll have to wait

01:30and see how the story unfolds. But in Trump's America, even Alcatraz isn't off the table.

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