Overview
- The White House budget released Friday requests $152 million to cover first‑year work to rebuild Alcatraz into a “state‑of‑the‑art secure prison facility,” a step that still needs congressional approval.
- The Bureau of Prisons says it is evaluating feasibility and has not issued a final plan, which would require environmental reviews and action to repurpose National Park Service land.
- Outside estimates put a full rebuild near $2 billion, with major obstacles that include no running water or sewage on the island and higher operating costs because every supply must come by boat.
- Opposition from California officials is already intense, with Rep. Nancy Pelosi pledging to block the plan in Congress, while some Republicans praise the proposal as a law‑and‑order move.
- Alcatraz now hosts more than one million visitors a year and generates roughly $60 million in tourism revenue, so converting it to a prison would disrupt a major park site in San Francisco Bay.