Homeland Security Secretary Reportedly Authorized Acquisition of Ten Engine-Free Spirit Airline Planes Which Airline Didn't Own

The head of the United States Department of Homeland Security reportedly approved the purchase of Spirit Airline aircraft before learning that the carrier did not truly possess the planes – and that the planes were missing engines.

This bizarre incident was detailed in a report published on the end of the week, which recounted how the official and a former political strategist had recently arranged to purchase ten Boeing 737 planes from the airline. Sources with knowledge informed the outlet that the pair intended to use the jets to expand deportation flights – and for personal travel.

Those sources also claimed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials had cautioned them that purchasing aircraft would be significantly costlier than simply expanding existing flight contracts.

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Complicating matters further, Spirit, which filed for bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in August, did not possess the jets and their power plants would have had to be bought separately. The plan has since been halted, according to the report.

In the interim, Democrats on the House appropriations committee said in October that during this season's record-long federal shutdown, the DHS had already purchased two Gulfstream jets for $200 million.

“It has come to our attention that, in the midst of a federal shutdown, the US Coast Guard entered into a single-source agreement 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 representatives wrote in a letter to the department.

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

Congress had previously approved the so-called “major immigration bill” in July, which dedicates roughly $170bn for immigration and border security operations, a amount that makes Immigration and Customs Enforcement the most heavily funded law enforcement agency in the federal government.

In the autumn, it was reported that the administration was transporting immigrants detained as part of its removal program in ways that breached their legal rights, often by plane.

Confidential information examined from charter airline GlobalX outlined the journeys of tens of thousands of immigrants who have been shuttled around the nation before removal.