🔗 Share this article

The secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security allegedly approved the acquisition of Spirit Airlines aircraft before learning that the airline did not truly possess the aircraft – and that the planes were missing engines.

This strange anecdote was detailed in a investigation released on the end of the week, which described how the secretary and a former campaign manager had recently arranged to buy 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from Spirit Airlines. People familiar with the situation told the paper that the two intended to use the planes to expand deportation 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.

ICE confronting intense criticism after video reportedly shows unconscious man holding child during detention.

Making the situation more complex, Spirit, which filed for bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in the summer, did not possess the jets and their power plants would have had to be acquired independently. The proposal has since been halted, according to the investigation.

Meanwhile, Democrats on the House appropriations committee said in the autumn that during this fall's historically lengthy federal shutdown, the Department of Homeland Security had already purchased two Gulfstream jets for $200 million.

“It has come to our attention that, in the midst of a federal shutdown, the United States Coast Guard entered into a single-source agreement with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to procure two new G700 luxury aircraft to support travel for the secretary and the deputy, at a cost to the taxpayer of $200 million,” Democratic representatives 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 offer further details.

Congress had earlier authorized the termed “big, beautiful bill” in the summer, which allocates roughly $170bn for immigration-related and border-related operations, a sum that makes Immigration and Customs Enforcement the most well-funded law enforcement agency in the federal government.

In September, it was revealed that the government was transporting immigrants detained as part of its removal program in ways that violated their legal rights, often by plane.

Confidential information examined from private airline GlobalX detailed the travels of thousands of immigrants who have been shuttled around the nation before removal.