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The secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security reportedly authorized the acquisition of Spirit Airline jets before learning that the airline did not actually own the planes – and that the planes lacked engines.

This bizarre incident was detailed in a report released on the end of the week, which recounted how the secretary and a former 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 buying planes would be significantly costlier than simply expanding current charter agreements.

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Complicating matters further, Spirit, which filed for bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in the summer, did not own the jets and their power plants would have had to be acquired separately. The proposal has since been halted, according to the report.

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

“It has come to our attention that, in the midst of a federal shutdown, the United States Coast Guard signed a single-source agreement with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to procure two new G700 luxury aircraft to facilitate travel for the secretary and the deputy secretary, at a expense 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 plane purchases were incorrect but refused to provide further details.

Congress had previously approved the so-called “big, beautiful bill” in July, which dedicates roughly $170 billion for immigration 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 reported that the government was moving immigrants detained as part of its removal program in ways that violated their legal rights, often by air.

Confidential information examined from charter airline Global Crossing outlined the travels of tens of thousands of immigrants who have been transported around the nation before removal.