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The head of the US Department of Homeland Security allegedly authorized the acquisition of Spirit Airline jets before discovering that the carrier did not actually own the aircraft – and that the planes were missing power plants.

This strange anecdote was detailed in a investigation published on Friday, which described how the official and a former political strategist had recently arranged to purchase 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from Spirit Airlines. People familiar with the situation informed the outlet that the pair planned to use the planes to increase deportation flights – and for personal travel.

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

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Complicating matters further, Spirit, which entered bankruptcy proceedings for the second instance in August, did not own the jets and their power plants would have had to be acquired independently. The plan has since been paused, according to the investigation.

In the interim, Democratic lawmakers on the House funding panel said in the autumn that during this fall's record-long federal shutdown, the Department of Homeland Security had already acquired two Gulfstream jets for $200m.

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

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

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

In the autumn, it was revealed that the administration 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 outlined the travels of tens of thousands of individuals who have been transported around the country before deportation.