Khaberni - In the new budget proposal, American President Donald Trump requested $152 million from Congress to reopen the infamous Alcatraz prison.
The budget proposal for the fiscal year 2027, released by the White House on Friday, calls for funding to rebuild Alcatraz as a "state-of-the-art secure prison facility," covering the first year of the project costs, and is part of a larger $1.7 billion request to fund "crumbling detention facilities" in the United States.
In May of last year, Trump said he had instructed the relevant authorities to rebuild and reopen the prison. Alcatraz, known as "The Rock," was an extremely secure prison, located on a wind-swept island in San Francisco Bay.
The prison, notorious for the difficulty of escaping it due to strong surrounding currents and the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean that surround it, was known as "The Rock," and housed some of the country's most famous criminals, including gangster Al Capone.
However, during the 29 years that it was open, 36 men tried to escape the prison through 14 separate attempts, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, nearly all were captured or did not survive the attempt.
The federal prison was closed in 1963 due to crumbling infrastructure and the exorbitant costs of repairing and supplying the island facility, as everything from fuel to food had to be brought in by boats.
Trump announced in May of last year that he had directed his government to reopen and expand Alcatraz prison.
At that time, he said: "America has suffered for too long from violent criminals, the dregs of society, who will offer nothing but misery and suffering.
When we were a more serious nation, in the past, we did not hesitate to imprison the most dangerous criminals, keeping them away from anyone they could harm.
That's how it's supposed to be."
He added: "For this reason, I direct today the Bureau of Prisons, in cooperation with the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Homeland Security, to reopen an expanded and significantly rebuilt Alcatraz prison, to house America's most dangerous and violent criminals," adding: "Reopening Alcatraz will be a symbol of law, order, and justice"
