Jul 18, 2025 minute read

Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum visited Alcatraz in the Bay Area of California on Thursday amid calls from President Donald Trump to reestablish the famed island prison.

Earlier this year, Trump floated the idea for the United States to rebuild and reopen Alcatraz, which is currently a historical landmark off the coast of San Francisco, California. Trump wrote in a May 4 Truth Social post, “REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ! For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering.”

According to KQED, Burgum and Bondi toured the facility on Thursday, and a spokesperson from the DOJ said that police as well as staff are collaborating on plans to reopen the site as a federal prison.

“Spent the day on Alcatraz Island, a National Park Service site, to start the work to renovate and reopen the site to house the most dangerous criminals and illegals. This administration is restoring safety, justice, and order to our streets,” Burgum wrote, adding that the Department of the Interior as well as the Justice Department are “following a directive by [President Donald Trump]to help lead that mission.”

In addition to the trip from Bondi and Burgum, it is expected that the House GOP will propose a bill to make the project a reality, ABC7 reported. The bill would strip environmental protections at Alcatraz as well as strip the stewardship of the site away from the National Park Service.

Democrat officials in California mocked the idea of reopening the facility for use. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a statement, “There’s no realistic plan to make Alcatraz reopen as anything other than the wonderful tourist attraction that it currently is.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office said in a statement, “Pam Bondi will reopen Alcatraz the same day Trump lets her release the Epstein files. So… never.”