Trump seeks $152 million to renovate Alcatraz as a prison
US President Donald Trump has requested $152 million to restore and reopen Alcatraz as a high-security facility. The request is part of the administration’s budget plan, which must be approved by Congress.
Donald Trump is once again trying to implement a project to restore one of America’s most famous prisons, Alcatraz. The president’s budget plan includes $152 million to fund the first stages of the restoration and reopening of the facility as a high-security correctional facility.
The funds are part of a larger request to increase funding for the Federal Bureau of Prisons by $1.7 billion, the goal of which is to improve working conditions and raise wages for employees, given the ongoing shortage of personnel in the penitentiary system.
However, the budget itself does not guarantee automatic approval, it is more like a list of administration priorities than an approved plan that Congress will immediately adopt in full. However, it clearly indicates where Trump intends to focus his political attention: on tightening the prison system and increasing control.
Alcatraz is no longer a prison, but a historic landmark and popular tourist destination, visited by an estimated 1.2 million people annually. The facility was closed more than 60 years ago due to infrastructure problems and high maintenance costs, with estimates at the time suggesting that restoration and basic maintenance would cost between $3 million and $5 million, not including day-to-day expenses.
