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The head of the United States Department of Homeland Security allegedly authorized the acquisition of Spirit Airline aircraft before discovering that the airline did not actually own the aircraft – and that the planes were missing engines.

This strange anecdote was detailed in a report published on the end of the week, which described how the secretary and a ex- campaign manager had recently arranged to buy 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from Spirit Airlines. Sources with knowledge told the paper that the two planned to use the jets to increase removal flights – and for personal travel.

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

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Complicating matters further, the airline, which filed for bankruptcy protection for the second instance in the summer, did not possess the jets and their engines would have had to be acquired independently. The plan has since been paused, according to the investigation.

In the interim, Democratic lawmakers on the House appropriations committee said in October that during this fall's record-long government 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 government shutdown, the United States Coast Guard signed a single-source contract with Gulfstream Aerospace to acquire two new G700 luxury jets to support travel for you and the deputy, at a cost to the taxpayer of $200m,” Democratic lawmakers wrote in a letter to the DHS.

A department representative informed the outlet that some details in the report about the plane purchases were incorrect but declined to provide additional clarification.

Congress had earlier approved the termed “big, beautiful bill” in the summer, 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 reported that the government was transporting immigrants detained as part of its removal program in ways that breached their constitutionally protected rights, often by air.

Confidential information examined from charter airline GlobalX detailed the journeys of tens of thousands of individuals who have been transported around the country before deportation.