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The secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security allegedly approved the acquisition of Spirit Airline jets before discovering that the carrier did not actually own the aircraft – and that the aircraft were missing engines.

This bizarre incident was detailed in a investigation released on the end of the week, which recounted how the official and a ex- campaign manager had recently arranged to purchase ten Boeing 737 planes from the airline. People familiar with the situation told the paper that the pair planned to use the jets to increase deportation flights – and for private use.

Those sources also claimed that ICE agents had warned them that purchasing aircraft would be significantly costlier than simply expanding existing flight contracts.

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Complicating matters further, Spirit, which entered bankruptcy protection for the second time in August, did not possess the aircraft and their engines would have had to be bought separately. The plan has since been paused, according to the report.

In the interim, Democratic lawmakers on the House funding panel said in October that during this season's record-long federal shutdown, the Department of Homeland Security had already acquired two Gulfstream jets for $200 million.

“It has come to our attention that, in the middle of a federal shutdown, the United States Coast Guard signed a sole source contract with Gulfstream Aerospace to procure two new G700 luxury jets to support travel for you and the deputy, at a expense to the public of $200m,” Democratic representatives wrote in a letter to the DHS.

A DHS spokesperson told the Journal that some details in the report about the plane purchases were inaccurate but refused to offer further details.

Congress had previously approved the termed “big, beautiful bill” in July, which dedicates roughly $170bn for immigration and border security operations, a sum that makes Immigration and Customs Enforcement the most well-funded federal agency in the federal government.

In the autumn, it was revealed that the government was moving individuals detained as part of its removal program in ways that violated their legal rights, often by air.

Leaked data examined from private airline GlobalX detailed the journeys of tens of thousands of individuals who have been transported around the nation before removal.