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The secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security reportedly authorized the acquisition of Spirit Airlines jets before learning that the airline did not actually own the planes – and that the aircraft were missing engines.

This strange incident was contained in a investigation published on the end of the week, which described how the secretary and a ex- political strategist had recently attempted to buy 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from Spirit Airlines. People familiar with the situation told the paper that the pair intended to use the planes to increase deportation flights – and for private use.

Those sources also claimed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials had cautioned them that buying planes would be far more expensive than simply increasing existing flight contracts.

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Making the situation more complex, Spirit, which entered bankruptcy protection for the second instance in August, did not possess the jets and their engines would have had to be bought separately. The plan has since been paused, according to the report.

Meanwhile, Democrats on the House funding panel said in the autumn that during this fall'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 government shutdown, the United States Coast Guard entered into a single-source contract with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to procure two new G700 luxury aircraft to support travel for the secretary and the deputy, at a cost to the taxpayer of $200m,” Democratic representatives wrote in a letter to the department.

A department representative informed the outlet that some details in the report about the plane purchases were inaccurate but declined to offer further details.

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

In September, it was reported that the administration was moving immigrants held as part of its removal program in ways that violated their constitutionally protected rights, often by plane.

Confidential information reviewed from private airline Global Crossing detailed the journeys of tens of thousands of individuals who have been transported around the nation before deportation.