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When it comes to prisons, the White House’s recent focus has been on El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). But as it turns out, that’s not the only notorious facility on the president’s mind. NBC News reported:
President Donald Trump said Sunday he will direct several federal agencies to “reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt Alcatraz,” a facility that for decades was a federal prison and is now a national park.
To the extent that the Republican’s weird online statements reflect the administration’s actual plans, Trump published a 175-word missive that began, "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. 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.”
He added that he was directing a variety of federal agencies to “reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders. We will no longer be held hostage to criminals, thugs, and Judges that are afraid to do their job and allow us to remove criminals, who came into our Country illegally. The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE.”
When a reporter asked the president hours later about the origins of such a move, he replied, “Just an idea I’ve had,” before complaining anew about “radicalized” judges who believe people are entitled to due process.
For now, let’s not dwell on the fact that the judges in question are not “afraid” to do their jobs, and their interest in the Fifth Amendment does not make them “radicals.”
Let’s instead focus on why this is such a ridiculous idea.
Right off the bat, there is no practical need to start housing prisoners at Alcatraz. The United States already has maximum-security prisons for the nation’s “most ruthless and violent” felons. They’re in operation right now, and no one has ever escaped such a facility. (A few prisoners did, however, escape Alcatraz.)
Relatedly, if federal officials came to believe it was time to build another maximum-security prison, they probably wouldn’t choose a small island in San Francisco Bay for such a venue.
But Trump’s online statement hinted at a deeper problem: The president seemed to suggest that we locked up the worst criminals in prisons such as Alcatraz “when we were a more serious nation” — as if the decision to turn the facility into a park for tourists somehow reflected a turn toward American weakness.
Except, that’s not what happened: Alcatraz was closed, not because federal officials were soft or eager to coddle felons, but because the place was falling apart. As a HuffPost report noted, “Those who tour the island in San Francisco Bay see facilities in various states of decay. The prison was crumbling even as it was still in operation, and the high cost of maintaining it was a key reason it was shuttered in 1963.”
With this in mind, Trump’s directive to “rebuild” and “substantially” enlarge the prison, preparing it to house dangerous felons again, isn't just pointless. It would also be, as The New York Times put it, “extraordinarily expensive” — even as the administration plans to cut billions of dollars from federal law enforcement.
So why make enormous investments of time and resources into renovating an unnecessary prison? Apparently because the incumbent president — himself, a convicted felon — thinks it would be cool to use this as a “symbol.”
When looking for evidence of Trump’s fundamental lack of seriousness on matters of public policy, keep this high on the list.