Feds Pursue Trump Plan To Reopen Alcatraz Though CA Leaders Deem It 'Absurd'

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — President Donald Trump has vowed to reopen the storied Alcatraz Prison — a present-day tourist destination that only operated as a prison for 29 years before it closed down in 1963.

Trump took to social media on Sunday and said he directed several federal agencies to "substantially" enlarge and rebuild Alcatraz to house America’s most ruthless and violent" prisoners.

The news was met with raised eyebrows and skepticism by many experts, politicians and Bay Area residents. However, leading federal officials say they will begin working on the president's plan.

House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who represents San Francisco, said Trump's proposal "is not a serious one."

"Alcatraz closed as a federal penitentiary more than sixty years ago. It is now a very popular national park and major tourist attraction," she said Sunday.

State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), called the idea "absurd."

"If Trump is serious about doing this, it’s just one more step in his dismantling of democracy — a domestic gulag right in the middle of San Francisco Bay," Wiener said in a statement, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

As of Monday morning, an executive order had not been posted to the White House website. But the new director of the federal Bureau of Prisons said the agency would "vigorously" pursue Trump's goal.

"I have ordered an immediate assessment to determine our needs and the next steps," said Bureau of Prisons Director William K. Marshall III, according to ABC News. "We look forward to restoring this powerful symbol of law, order, and justice."

During its operation from 1934 to 1963, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary housed some of America's most notorious criminals. Among them were Al Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Alvin Karpis and Arthur "Doc" Barker. However, the majority of inmates were not infamous gangsters but individuals who had repeatedly violated rules at other federal institutions, were deemed violent and dangerous, or were considered high escape risks, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

The bureau's website states that the facility closed because it was nearly three times more expensive to operate than any other federal prison. Back when it closed in the 1960s, the jail needed an estimated $3 to $5 million in maintenance just to keep it operating. But another major expense that made it difficult to run the jail was the fact that everything from food and water to basic supplies had to be brought to Alcatraz by boat.

"Nearly one million gallons of water had to be barged to the island each week," according to the Bureau of Prisons. "The Federal Government found that it was more cost-effective to build a new institution than to keep Alcatraz open."

Since 1972, the island has belonged to the National Park Service and has remained one of the most popular travel destinations, drawing more than a million visitors each year, according to the prisons bureau.

But can Trump actually authorize the reopening and reconstruction of Alcatraz as a prison?

That depends.

Currently, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area manages the area. And since Alcatraz is on the National Register of Historic Places, Trump would have to remove its designation to actually alter or rebuild the facility, The Mercury News reported.

More likely, though, Trump would face much larger hurdles than removing its historical designation, according to multiple experts.

John Martini, an expert on Alcatraz history, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the building itself is "totally inoperable" and has no water or sewage.

Martini served as a park ranger on the island in the 1970s, just after it opened to the public, and has written about the military history of the San Francisco Bay.

“It was falling apart and needed huge amounts of reconstruction, and that would have only brought it up to 1963 code,” he said. “It was always an extremely expensive place to run.”

Martini also pointed out to The Mercury News that the island is a rock, which doesn't have soil to drill into.

“The reason it is not a prison now is because of the daunting challenges from six decades ago,” Martini told the newspaper. “The idea that we’re going to forget all that and pick up where we left off during the JFK administration — let’s just say there will be a lot of challenges.”

Gregg Jarret, a Fox News legal analyst, said that the project would likely face legal issues that would tie the project up for years. He also said that Trump likely proposed it because it is a "provocative idea" that was guaranteed to upset "progressives."

"It is, however, federal property, so this can be done, but it'd have to be rebuilt almost entirely. It's so outdated and crumbling. And here's the important part, it has landmark status," he said. "So, there would be an avalanche of lawsuits that would probably tie it up for years. Don't forget, this is California."

Tramir Dunn, who was visiting the island on Sunday, told the Chronicle that he believes the idea is "impractical."

“What would be the point? Who would pay for that? Don’t we have enough super max prisons already?"