Trump seeks $152 million to reopen famed Alcatraz prison

The White House on Friday sought $152 million to return the former Alcatraz prison island to ​active duty, following up on President Donald Trump’s call ‌last year to transform the popular San Francisco Bay tourist destination.

The request was tucked into a proposed budget the White House released ​to fund the government for the 2027 fiscal year. ​Such spending requests are typically treated by lawmakers ⁠in Congress as suggestions.

The budget seeks funds for the ​Federal Bureau of Prisons to cover the first-year costs of ​rebuilding Alcatraz into “a state-of-the-art secure prison facility.” It closed in 1969 and has been under the National Park Service’s auspices.

Trump in May announced ​on social media that he was directing the Bureau ​of Prisons, the U.S. Department of Justice, and other agencies to “reopen a ‌substantially ⁠enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders.”

Alcatraz, which opened in 1934, had been billed as America’s most secure prison given the island location, frigid ​waters and ​strong currents. No ⁠successful escapes were ever officially recorded, though five prisoners are listed as “missing and presumed ​drowned.”

Before its closure, it housed such notorious ​criminals as ⁠Al Capone and James “Whitey” Bulger.

The Bureau of Prisons’ website recounts that it was closed because it was too expensive to ⁠continue ​operating, noting it was nearly three ​times more costly to operate than any other federal prison.