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The secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security reportedly approved the acquisition of Spirit Airline aircraft before discovering that the airline did not truly possess the planes – and that the planes lacked power plants.

This strange incident was detailed in a report published on the end of the week, which described how the secretary and a former campaign manager had recently attempted to purchase 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from the airline. Sources with knowledge told the paper that the pair intended to use the jets to expand deportation flights – and for personal travel.

Those sources also claimed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had cautioned them that buying planes would be far more expensive than simply expanding existing flight contracts.

ICE confronting fierce backlash after footage reportedly shows unresponsive individual holding infant during detention.

Complicating matters further, Spirit, which entered bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in the summer, did not own the aircraft and their engines would have had to be bought independently. The plan has since been halted, according to the investigation.

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers on the House appropriations committee said in the autumn that during this fall's historically lengthy government shutdown, the Department of Homeland Security had already acquired two Gulfstream aircraft for $200 million.

“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 procure two new G700 luxury jets to support travel for the secretary and the deputy, at a expense to the taxpayer of $200m,” Democratic lawmakers wrote in a communication to the DHS.

A department representative told the Journal that parts of its reporting about the aircraft acquisitions were incorrect but declined to offer further details.

Congress had previously approved the so-called “big, beautiful bill” in the summer, which allocates roughly $170 billion for immigration and border-related operations, a amount that makes ICE the most heavily funded federal agency in the US government.

In September, it was revealed that the government was moving immigrants detained as part of its removal program in ways that breached their legal rights, often by plane.

Confidential information examined from private airline GlobalX outlined the travels of tens of thousands of individuals who have been shuttled around the nation before removal.