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The head of the US Department of Homeland Security reportedly authorized the purchase of Spirit Airlines jets before discovering that the airline did not truly possess the planes – and that the aircraft lacked engines.

This bizarre incident was detailed in a investigation published on the end of the week, which described how the secretary and a ex- political strategist had recently attempted to buy 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from Spirit Airlines. People familiar with the situation informed the outlet that the two intended to use the planes to expand removal flights – and for private use.

Those sources also claimed that ICE agents had warned them that buying planes would be significantly costlier than simply expanding current charter agreements.

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Making the situation more complex, the airline, which entered bankruptcy protection for the second time in August, did not own the jets and their engines would have had to be bought independently. The proposal has since been halted, according to the investigation.

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers on the House funding panel said in October that during this fall's record-long federal shutdown, the Department of Homeland Security had already acquired two Gulfstream aircraft for $200m.

“It has come to our attention that, in the middle of a government shutdown, the United States Coast Guard signed a sole source contract with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to procure two new G700 luxury aircraft to support travel for the secretary and the deputy secretary, at a expense to the taxpayer of $200m,” Democratic lawmakers wrote in a letter to the department.

A department representative told the Journal that some details in the report about the aircraft acquisitions were incorrect but refused to provide further details.

Congress had previously approved the termed “big, beautiful bill” in the summer, which allocates roughly $170 billion for immigration-related and border security operations, a amount that makes Immigration and Customs Enforcement the most heavily funded law enforcement agency in the federal government.

In September, it was revealed that the administration was transporting immigrants detained as part of its deportation agenda in ways that breached their constitutionally protected rights, often by plane.

Leaked data examined from private airline Global Crossing outlined the travels of tens of thousands of immigrants who have been transported around the country before deportation.