🔗 Share this article

The head of the United States Department of Homeland Security reportedly authorized the purchase of Spirit Airline jets before discovering that the airline did not actually own the planes – and that the planes lacked power plants.

This bizarre incident was contained in a report released on the end of the week, which described how the official and a former political strategist had recently attempted to buy ten Boeing 737 planes from Spirit Airlines. People familiar with the situation told the paper that the two intended to use the jets to increase deportation flights – and for private use.

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

ICE facing intense criticism after footage reportedly shows unconscious man holding infant during arrest.

Complicating matters further, the airline, which filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time in August, did not possess the jets and their engines would have had to be acquired independently. The plan has since been paused, according to the investigation.

Meanwhile, Democrats 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 $200 million.

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

A department representative told the Journal that some details in the report about the aircraft acquisitions were inaccurate but declined to offer additional clarification.

The legislature had earlier authorized the termed “major immigration bill” in the summer, which allocates roughly $170 billion for immigration-related and border-related operations, a sum that makes ICE the most well-funded federal agency in the federal government.

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

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