🔗 Share this article

The secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security allegedly approved the acquisition of Spirit Airlines jets before learning that the carrier did not actually own the aircraft – and that the planes lacked power plants.

This bizarre incident was contained in a investigation published on Friday, which recounted how the secretary and a former political strategist had recently arranged to buy ten Boeing 737 planes from the airline. People familiar with the situation 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 officials had warned them that purchasing aircraft would be significantly costlier than simply expanding current charter agreements.

Immigration officials facing intense criticism after footage apparently shows unconscious man holding infant during arrest.

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

Meanwhile, Democrats on the House funding panel said in the autumn that during this fall's record-long federal shutdown, the DHS had already acquired two Gulfstream jets for $200m.

“It has come to our attention that, in the midst of a government shutdown, the US Coast Guard signed a single-source contract with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to acquire two new G700 luxury jets to facilitate travel for you and the deputy secretary, at a cost to the public of $200 million,” Democratic representatives wrote in a letter to the department.

A DHS spokesperson informed the outlet that some details in the report about the aircraft acquisitions were incorrect but refused to provide further details.

The legislature had previously authorized the so-called “major immigration bill” in the summer, which allocates roughly $170bn for immigration and border-related operations, a sum that makes ICE the most heavily funded law enforcement agency in the US government.

In the autumn, it was revealed that the administration was moving immigrants held as part of its deportation agenda in ways that breached their legal rights, often by air.

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