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The secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security reportedly approved the purchase of Spirit Airline aircraft before discovering that the carrier did not actually own the planes – and that the aircraft were missing engines.

This bizarre incident was contained in a investigation published on Friday, which described how the official and a ex- campaign manager had recently arranged to buy 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from the airline. Sources with knowledge told the paper that the two intended to use the planes to expand removal flights – and for personal travel.

Those insiders also claimed that ICE agents had cautioned them that purchasing aircraft would be far more expensive than simply increasing existing flight contracts.

Immigration officials confronting intense criticism after video apparently shows unconscious man clutching infant during detention.

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

In the interim, Democratic lawmakers on the House funding panel said in the autumn that during this season's historically lengthy government shutdown, the Department of Homeland Security had already purchased two Gulfstream jets for $200m.

“It has come to our attention that, in the midst of a government shutdown, the US Coast Guard entered into a sole source agreement with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to procure two new G700 luxury aircraft to facilitate travel for you and the deputy, at a cost to the taxpayer of $200 million,” Democratic lawmakers wrote in a letter to the DHS.

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

The legislature had earlier approved the so-called “big, beautiful bill” in the summer, which allocates roughly $170 billion for immigration and border security operations, a amount that makes Immigration and Customs Enforcement the most well-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 deportation agenda in ways that breached their constitutionally protected rights, often by plane.

Confidential information examined from charter airline GlobalX detailed the journeys of thousands of individuals who have been transported around the nation before removal.