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The head of the US Department of Homeland Security allegedly authorized the purchase of Spirit Airlines aircraft before discovering that the carrier did not truly possess the aircraft – and that the aircraft were missing power plants.

This bizarre incident was contained in a investigation published on Friday, which recounted how the secretary and a ex- political strategist had recently arranged to buy ten Boeing 737 planes from Spirit Airlines. People familiar with the situation informed the outlet that the pair intended to use the jets to expand deportation flights – and for private use.

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

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

In the interim, Democrats on the House appropriations committee said in the autumn that during this season's record-long government shutdown, the Department of Homeland Security had already purchased two Gulfstream jets for $200m.

“It has come to our attention that, in the middle of a federal shutdown, the United States Coast Guard signed a sole source agreement with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to acquire two new G700 luxury jets to facilitate travel for the secretary 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 some details in the report about the aircraft acquisitions were incorrect but declined to provide additional clarification.

Congress had earlier approved the so-called “big, beautiful bill” in July, which dedicates roughly $170 billion for immigration and border security operations, a sum that makes Immigration and Customs Enforcement the most heavily funded federal agency in the federal government.

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

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