President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he is ordering the reopening of Alcatraz, a shuttered prison on an island in the San Francisco Bay.

The president said he will be directing the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to reopen and “enlarge” the prison.

Trump cited violent crime and a need to protect the American public for the move and plans to use the notorious island to “house America’s most ruthless and violent Offender.”

“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 president said in his message on Truth Social. “The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

The order comes as Trump has been in a public clash with the courts as his government attempted to send accused gang members to a prison in El Salvador.

Alcatraz Island was included as part of the National Park Service unit in 1972 when Congress created the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

According to the Bureau of Prisons, Alcatraz was closed because it was too expensive to operate. When the prison closed in 1963, it was estimated that upwards of $5 million was needed to restore and maintain the prison.

“That figure did not include daily operating costs – Alcatraz was nearly three times more expensive to operate than any other Federal prison,” the bureau’s website read.

In 1959, the daily per capita cost at Alcatraz was $10.10, according to the federal agency.

The island sees upwards of 1 million visitors a year, per the bureau.

The National Park Service and Alcatraz officials did not immediately respond to NBC Bay Area’s request for comment.