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The head of the US Department of Homeland Security reportedly authorized the purchase of Spirit Airlines jets before learning that the airline did not truly possess the planes – and that the aircraft were missing power plants.

This bizarre incident was contained in a report released on Friday, which described how the official and a ex- campaign manager had recently attempted to buy 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from Spirit Airlines. People familiar with the situation told the paper that the two intended to use the jets to expand removal flights – and for personal travel.

Those insiders also claimed that ICE officials had warned them that purchasing aircraft would be far more expensive than simply expanding existing flight contracts.

Immigration officials facing intense criticism after footage apparently shows unresponsive individual clutching infant during arrest.

Complicating matters further, Spirit, which entered bankruptcy protection for the second instance in the summer, did not own the aircraft and their engines would have had to be bought separately. The plan has since been halted, according to the investigation.

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

“It has come to our attention that, in the middle of a government shutdown, the United States Coast Guard signed a single-source contract with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to procure two new G700 luxury jets to facilitate travel for you and the deputy, at a expense to the public of $200m,” Democratic representatives wrote in a communication to the DHS.

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

The legislature had earlier approved the termed “big, beautiful bill” in the summer, which allocates roughly $170bn for immigration and border security operations, a amount that makes Immigration and Customs Enforcement the most well-funded federal agency in the US government.

In the autumn, it was revealed that the administration was transporting individuals held as part of its deportation agenda in ways that breached their constitutionally protected rights, often by plane.

Leaked data reviewed from charter airline GlobalX detailed the travels of tens of thousands of individuals who have been transported around the nation before deportation.