🔗 Share this article

The secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security allegedly authorized the purchase of Spirit Airline aircraft before discovering that the airline did not actually own the planes – and that the planes lacked power plants.

This bizarre incident was detailed in a report published on the end of the week, which described how the official and a ex- political strategist had recently attempted to purchase 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from Spirit Airlines. People familiar with the situation informed the outlet that the two intended to use the jets to increase removal flights – and for personal travel.

Those insiders also claimed that ICE agents had warned them that buying planes would be far more expensive than simply increasing current charter agreements.

ICE confronting fierce backlash after footage apparently shows unconscious man clutching child during arrest.

Complicating matters further, the airline, which entered bankruptcy protection for the second time in August, did not possess the jets and their engines would have had to be acquired independently. The proposal has since been paused, according to the report.

In the interim, Democratic lawmakers on the House funding panel said in the autumn that during this season's historically lengthy government shutdown, the Department of Homeland Security had already purchased two Gulfstream aircraft for $200m.

“It has come to our attention that, in the middle of a government shutdown, the United States Coast Guard entered into a single-source agreement with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to acquire two new G700 luxury jets to support travel for you and the deputy, at a cost to the taxpayer of $200 million,” Democratic representatives wrote in a communication to the department.

A DHS spokesperson told the Journal that parts of its reporting about the aircraft acquisitions were incorrect but refused to offer further details.

The legislature had previously authorized the termed “big, beautiful bill” in the summer, which allocates roughly $170bn for immigration-related and border security operations, a sum that makes ICE the most heavily funded federal agency in the US government.

In September, it was revealed that the government was moving individuals held as part of its deportation agenda in ways that breached their constitutionally protected rights, often by plane.

Leaked data examined from charter airline Global Crossing detailed the travels of tens of thousands of immigrants who have been transported around the nation before removal.