United States President Donald Trump says he has ordered officials to rebuild and reopen Alcatraz, a notorious federal prison based on a small island in the state of California that has been shut for more than 60 years.
In a post on his Truth Social site on Sunday, Trump wrote he is “directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ” to house the US’s “most ruthless and violent Offenders”.
The directive was the latest move by the Republican to overhaul how and where federal prisoners and immigration detainees are locked up.
It comes as his administration has been clashing with the judiciary after invoking an 18th century law – previously used only during wartime – to deport those it alleges are criminals and gang members, without due process.
Trump has also repeatedly floated the legally dubious idea of sending US citizens convicted of violent crimes to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, known as CECOT.
Speaking to reporters as he returned to the White House after a weekend in Florida, Trump said reopening Alcatraz was “just an idea I’ve had” amid frustrations with “radicalized judges” who have insisted those being deported receive due process.
“It’s a symbol of law and order,” he said.
The comments followed the airing of an interview in which the president said he “didn’t know” whether people in the US are entitled to due process rights guaranteed by the country’s Constitution.
Source: ALJAZEERA