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The head of the US Department of Homeland Security reportedly approved the acquisition of Spirit Airline jets before learning that the carrier did not actually own the aircraft – and that the aircraft were missing engines.

This strange anecdote was detailed in a report released on Friday, which described how the secretary and a ex- political strategist had recently attempted to purchase 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from the airline. Sources with knowledge told the paper that the pair intended to use the jets to expand removal flights – and for private use.

Those sources also stated that ICE officials had warned them that purchasing aircraft would be significantly costlier than simply expanding current charter agreements.

Immigration officials facing fierce backlash after footage apparently shows unresponsive individual clutching infant during detention.

Complicating matters further, the airline, which entered bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in the summer, did not own the jets and their engines would have had to be acquired separately. The proposal has since been paused, 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 Department of Homeland Security had already acquired two Gulfstream aircraft for $200m.

“It has come to our attention that, in the middle of a federal shutdown, the United States Coast Guard entered into 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 taxpayer of $200m,” Democratic representatives wrote in a communication to the DHS.

A DHS spokesperson told the Journal that some details in the report about the plane purchases were incorrect but refused to offer further details.

The legislature had previously authorized the so-called “big, beautiful bill” in July, which allocates roughly $170bn for immigration-related and border-related operations, a amount that makes ICE the most heavily funded federal agency in the federal government.

In September, it was revealed that the government was moving individuals detained as part of its deportation agenda in ways that violated their constitutionally protected rights, often by air.

Confidential information examined from charter airline GlobalX outlined the travels of tens of thousands of immigrants who have been transported around the country before deportation.