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The head of the US Department of Homeland Security allegedly approved the purchase of Spirit Airlines aircraft before discovering that the carrier did not actually own the aircraft – and that the planes lacked power plants.

This bizarre anecdote was detailed in a report released on Friday, which recounted how the official and a former political strategist had recently arranged to purchase ten Boeing 737 planes from the airline. People familiar with the situation informed the outlet that the two planned to use the jets to expand deportation flights – and for personal travel.

Those sources also claimed that ICE agents had warned them that buying planes would be significantly costlier than simply increasing existing flight contracts.

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Making the situation more complex, Spirit, which filed for bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in August, did not own the aircraft and their engines would have had to be acquired separately. The plan has since been halted, according to the report.

In the interim, Democratic lawmakers on the House appropriations committee said in the autumn that during this fall's historically lengthy government shutdown, the DHS had already acquired two Gulfstream jets for $200m.

“It has come to our attention that, in the midst of a government shutdown, the US Coast Guard signed a single-source contract with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to acquire two new G700 luxury jets to facilitate travel for the secretary and the deputy secretary, at a expense to the taxpayer of $200 million,” Democratic representatives wrote in a letter to the DHS.

A DHS spokesperson informed the outlet that some details in the report about the aircraft acquisitions were inaccurate but refused to offer further details.

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

In the autumn, it was revealed that the government was moving immigrants detained as part of its removal program in ways that breached their constitutionally protected rights, often by plane.

Leaked data examined from charter airline Global Crossing detailed the travels of tens of thousands of immigrants who have been shuttled around the nation before deportation.