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The head of the US Department of Homeland Security allegedly approved the purchase of Spirit Airline aircraft before discovering that the airline did not actually own the aircraft – and that the aircraft were missing power plants.

This strange incident was contained in a report published on Friday, which described how the secretary and a ex- political strategist had recently arranged to buy 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from Spirit Airlines. People familiar with the situation told the paper that the pair intended to use the planes to expand deportation flights – and for personal travel.

Those sources also claimed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had cautioned them that purchasing aircraft would be significantly costlier than simply increasing current charter agreements.

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Complicating matters further, Spirit, which entered bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in the summer, did not possess the aircraft and their power plants would have had to be bought independently. The proposal has since been halted, according to the investigation.

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers on the House appropriations committee said in October that during this fall's record-long federal shutdown, the DHS had already acquired two Gulfstream jets for $200 million.

“It has come to our attention that, in the middle of a federal shutdown, the United States Coast Guard signed a sole source contract with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to acquire two new G700 luxury aircraft to facilitate travel for the secretary and the deputy, at a expense to the taxpayer of $200 million,” Democratic representatives wrote in a letter to the DHS.

A DHS spokesperson told the Journal that parts of its reporting about the plane purchases were incorrect but refused to provide further details.

Congress had earlier approved the so-called “major immigration bill” in the summer, which allocates roughly $170 billion for immigration-related and border security operations, a sum that makes Immigration and Customs Enforcement the most well-funded federal agency in the US government.

In the autumn, it was reported that the government was transporting individuals detained as part of its deportation agenda in ways that breached their legal rights, often by air.

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