BBC Quotes Professor Chin on Trump's Call to Reopen Alcatraz

Professor Gabriel “Jack” Chin spoke to the BBC for a May 5 report on President Donald Trump’s claims that he is directing his administration to reopen Alcatraz, the notorious Bay Area prison turned successful tourist destination.

Chin said it would be prohibitively expensive to return the federal prison to functioning order, and noted that Trump does not need the space, since the prison system is down 25% from its peak population.

Trump is using Alcatraz's notorious reputation to send a message that his administration will be tough on crime, Chin said.

Chin is a Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law and holder of the Edward L. Barrett Jr. Endowed Chair at UC Davis School of Law. He is a prolific and much-cited criminal and immigration law scholar whose work has addressed many of the most pressing social issues of our time.