🔗 Share this article

The head of the United States Department of Homeland Security reportedly approved the acquisition of Spirit Airline jets before learning that the carrier did not truly possess the planes – and that the planes were missing power plants.

This strange anecdote was detailed in a investigation released on Friday, which described how the official and a ex- political strategist had recently arranged to buy 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from Spirit Airlines. Sources with knowledge informed the outlet that the pair planned to use the planes to increase deportation flights – and for private use.

Those insiders also claimed that ICE agents had cautioned them that purchasing aircraft would be far more expensive than simply increasing current charter agreements.

Immigration officials confronting intense criticism after video reportedly shows unresponsive individual clutching child during detention.

Making the situation more complex, the airline, which entered bankruptcy protection for the second time in the summer, did not possess the jets and their power plants would have had to be bought separately. The proposal 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 government shutdown, the DHS had already acquired two Gulfstream jets for $200m.

“It has come to our attention that, in the middle of a federal shutdown, the US Coast Guard signed a single-source agreement with Gulfstream Aerospace to acquire two new G700 luxury aircraft to facilitate travel for you and the deputy, at a cost to the taxpayer of $200m,” Democratic representatives wrote in a communication to the department.

A DHS spokesperson told the Journal that some details in the report about the aircraft acquisitions were incorrect but refused to provide additional clarification.

Congress had previously authorized the termed “big, beautiful bill” in the summer, which allocates roughly $170 billion for immigration and border security operations, a sum that makes ICE the most well-funded law enforcement agency in the federal government.

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

Leaked data reviewed from private airline GlobalX outlined the travels of thousands of individuals who have been transported around the country before removal.