WASHINGTON — Border czar Tom Homan said Monday that President Trump’s proposal to reopen the notorious Alcatraz prison could help Immigration and Customs Enforcement solve a shortage of detention space amid the administration’s deportation push.
Reopening Alcatraz — which closed in 1963 and has operated as a museum since — “should be on the table,” Homan told reporters outside the White House.
“We need detention beds. We do contracts in a lot of states, a lot of local municipalities. I think it’s certainly an option, especially for the significant public safety threats, national security threats,” he explained.
Homan also said he had “no idea” how much it would cost to modernize Alcatraz, which opened in 1934 on an island in San Francisco Bay as a so-called “last resort prison” for criminals deemed the worst of the worst.
“I think that’s an appropriate place for the significant public safety threats, national security threats. Why not?” he asked.
Homan has pressured Congress to provide funding for more detention beds and other tools to carry out more deportations — saying in April it’s “taking too long” to pass a budget with more border security funding.
Trump, 78, suggested reopening the prison in a Truth Social post Sunday evening.
“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,” he said.
“When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm.”
“That’s the way it’s supposed to be. No longer will we tolerate these Serial Offenders who spread filth, bloodshed, and mayhem on our streets,” he went on.
Trump stood by his idea in the Oval Office Monday, saying the facility known as “The Rock” was a symbol of “something very strong, very powerful in terms of law and order” and adding that it was both “horrible and beautiful” and has “lots of qualities that are interesting.”
Federal authorities closed the prison due to its expensive operations as well as structural deterioration caused by exposure to saltwater spray.
Now run by the National Park Service, the prison attracts more than 1.5 million tourists every year.
