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The head of the United States Department of Homeland Security allegedly approved the purchase of Spirit Airline jets before discovering that the carrier did not truly possess the planes – and that the planes were missing engines.

This strange anecdote was detailed in a report published on Friday, which recounted how the secretary and a ex- political strategist had recently attempted to purchase ten Boeing 737 planes from Spirit Airlines. People familiar with the situation informed the outlet that the pair intended to use the planes to increase deportation flights – and for private use.

Those insiders also stated that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials had cautioned them that buying planes would be significantly costlier than simply increasing existing flight contracts.

Immigration officials confronting intense criticism after footage reportedly shows unresponsive individual holding child during detention.

Making the situation more complex, the airline, which entered bankruptcy protection for the second instance in the summer, did not own the jets and their power plants would have had to be bought independently. The proposal has since been paused, according to the report.

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

“It has come to our attention that, in the middle of a government shutdown, the US Coast Guard entered into a sole source contract with Gulfstream Aerospace to procure two new G700 luxury aircraft to facilitate travel for the secretary and the deputy secretary, at a cost to the taxpayer of $200 million,” Democratic representatives wrote in a communication to the department.

A department representative informed the outlet that parts of its reporting about the plane purchases were inaccurate but refused to offer additional clarification.

Congress had earlier approved the so-called “big, beautiful bill” in July, which dedicates roughly $170 billion for immigration-related and border-related operations, a amount that makes ICE the most well-funded federal agency in the US government.

In September, it was revealed that the government was transporting individuals held as part of its deportation agenda in ways that violated their constitutionally protected rights, often by plane.

Leaked data reviewed from charter airline GlobalX outlined the travels of thousands of individuals who have been transported around the nation before removal.