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The secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security allegedly authorized the purchase of Spirit Airline jets before learning that the airline did not actually own the planes – and that the aircraft were missing engines.

This strange anecdote was contained in a investigation released on Friday, which described how the secretary and a former political strategist had recently attempted to buy 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from Spirit Airlines. Sources with knowledge told the paper that the pair planned to use the planes to increase removal flights – and for private use.

Those insiders also claimed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials had warned them that buying planes would be significantly costlier than simply increasing current charter agreements.

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Complicating matters further, the airline, which entered bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in August, did not own the jets and their engines would have had to be acquired independently. The plan has since been halted, according to the report.

Meanwhile, Democrats on the House appropriations committee said in the autumn that during this season's historically lengthy government shutdown, the DHS had already purchased two Gulfstream aircraft 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 contract with Gulfstream Aerospace to procure two new G700 luxury jets to facilitate travel for you and the deputy, at a expense to the taxpayer of $200 million,” Democratic lawmakers wrote in a communication to the DHS.

A DHS spokesperson informed the outlet that parts of its reporting about the aircraft acquisitions were incorrect but refused to offer further details.

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

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

Confidential information reviewed from private airline GlobalX outlined the travels of tens of thousands of individuals who have been transported around the nation before removal.