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The Alcatraz inspection by Pam Bondi and Doug Burgum explores the potential renewal

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EXCLUSIVE: Fox News had access to Alcatraz Island on Thursday, while the American prosecutor General Pam Bondi and the interior secretary Doug Burgum visited the sad prison of the Bay of San Francisco in California towards President Donald Trump.

The visit was part of an official exam to determine if the site could be brought back as a federal high security detention center.

“It was an idea of the president”, the White House Press secretary Karoline Leavitt Explained during a white house briefing Thursday in Washington, DC “He spoke about it in May and ordered his administration to examine a reopening plan for Alcatraz if possible”.

Trump pushes to reopen Alcatraz, but Pelosi and Newsom reject it as a “distraction”

After Trump’s May 5 announcement on the reopening of Alcatraz as a working -class prison, Bondi and Burgum joined Fox News correspondent David Spunt, to visit “The Rock” to receive a briefing on the site and assess the former infrastructure of the 91 -year -old federal prison.

The visit, which included the walks of the main cellular blocks and the out -of -limits normally closed to the public, was an investigation mission and not an official reopening announcement.

Bondi and Burgum interviewing in Alcatraz with Fox News

Fox News correspondent David Stunt interviews the Attorney General Pam Bondi and the interior secretary Doug Burgum inside Alcatraz on Thursday. The exclusive interview took place during his visit to the prison in decarment. (Fox News)

Leap and Burgum has spent several hours Inspection of the ruined infrastructure while discussing the island’s potential for future federal use. They visited the prison and the surrounding island, met with officials of the National Park Service (NPS) and ordered the staff to collaborate on a preliminary plan to rehabilitate the complex.

The island is managed by the NPS under the jurisdiction of the interior department.

If it is reactivated, it would be operated by the Bureau of Prisons, a division of the Ministry of Justice (DoJ).

“So many people remember Al Capone, but this is not the past. This is what Alcatraz could be again,” said Spunt on the island. “They believe, with their boss, the president, that this can be the symbol of the law and the order that this administration is looking for.”

Alcatraz worked as a federal prison from 1934 to 1963, originally operating as a military prison in the 1850s. The name derived from “alcatraces” after the mission of exploring the Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala in 1775 of the Bay of San Francisco. While his etymology inspired the debate, the Bureau of Prisons supports This most likely means “Pelican” or “strange bird”.

Legal experts say Trump can certainly reopen Alcatraz, but could face “the avalanche of prosecution”

Pam bondi visit the Alcatraz tunnel with park ranger

The American prosecutor General Pam Bondi listens as manager of the National Park Service leads it through a limited tunnel during a private visit to Alcatraz Island on Thursday. (Fox News)

Alcatraz as a federal prison had a maximum capacity of 336 detainees, more than 150 staff and their families. At its peak in the early 1960s, the prison’s operating cost per detainee was more than $ 10 per day, almost double the national average, according to data from the Bureau of Prisons.

“This is a great installation,” said Bondi. “He needs a lot of work, but no one is known to escape Alcatraz and survive.”

Bondi told Fox News that prison could theoretically hold a range of offenders, including “violent criminals, federal predators and illegal foreigners”. It highlighted the symbolic value of its isolation and its reputation for strict control.

Burgum said the objective was to assess the feasibility of restoring Alcatraz in its initial use.

“It is a federal property. Its initial use was a prison. We are here to examine whether it can serve this objective again,” he said.

The island poses serious logistics challenges. Alcatraz has no direct power or water lines from the continent of San Francisco more than one mile of distance, and more than a million gallons of water per month were transported by the restoration. Restoration would also require major improvements to comply with modern codes, including ADA compliance, environmental regulations and approval of the prison and federal courses.

The MJ This week sent letters to the Sheriffs of California looking for information on undocumented migrants released from state prisons. An administration official has noted in Fox News Digital that if these letters reflect the DOJ public security mission, they are not directly linked to the journal Alcatraz.

Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz island obtains 1.5 million visitors each year as a national park. (Lea Suzuki / The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

Not everyone is on board. The former lecturer of the Chamber, Nancy Pelosi, who represents San Francisco at the Congress, called the “most stupid to Trump day.

The administration has not announced a calendar for a decision. Bondi and Burgum will report their conclusions to the president before taking official measures.

After its closure in 1963 due to high costs and decomposition infrastructure, Alcatraz reopened to the public in 1973 under the Ministry of the Interior. It is now one of the most visited national historic monuments in the country, attracting more than 1.5 million tourists per year. This popularity could become a factor in any decision to give it to a secure correctional site.

Alcatraz has long captured the American imagination. Between 1934 and 1963, 14 escape attempts involving 36 men were recorded, but the prisons office maintains that no squap has ever reached freedom.

Officials believe that icy and high currents may have claimed the lives of those who have disappeared.

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“It’s Alcatraz,” said Burgum. “The name always means something.”

The DoJ did not immediately respond to the request for comments from Fox News Digital.

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