🔗 Share this article

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

This bizarre anecdote was contained in a investigation released on the end of the week, which recounted how the official and a ex- campaign manager had recently attempted to buy 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from Spirit Airlines. Sources with knowledge told the paper that the pair intended to use the jets to increase removal flights – and for private use.

Those sources also stated that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had warned them that buying planes would be far more expensive than simply expanding existing flight contracts.

ICE confronting intense criticism after footage reportedly shows unresponsive individual clutching infant during arrest.

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

In the interim, Democratic lawmakers on the House appropriations committee said in the autumn that during this season'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 government shutdown, the US Coast Guard signed a single-source agreement with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to acquire two new G700 luxury aircraft to support travel for the secretary and the deputy, at a cost to the public of $200 million,” Democratic lawmakers wrote in a communication 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 “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 federal agency in the US government.

In the autumn, it was reported that the government was moving individuals detained as part of its removal program in ways that breached their constitutionally protected rights, often by air.

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