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The head of the United States Department of Homeland Security allegedly authorized the acquisition of Spirit Airlines aircraft before discovering that the airline did not truly possess the aircraft – and that the aircraft lacked power plants.

This bizarre anecdote was contained in a report released on the end of the week, which recounted how the official and a ex- campaign manager had recently attempted to buy ten Boeing 737 planes from Spirit Airlines. People familiar with the situation informed the outlet that the pair planned to use the planes to increase removal flights – and for private use.

Those sources also claimed that ICE agents had cautioned them that purchasing aircraft would be significantly costlier than simply increasing current charter agreements.

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Complicating matters further, the airline, which filed for bankruptcy protection for the second instance in the summer, did not own the jets and their power plants would have had to be bought independently. The proposal has since been paused, according to the investigation.

In the interim, Democrats on the House funding panel said in the autumn that during this fall's record-long government shutdown, the DHS 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 acquire two new G700 luxury jets to facilitate travel for you and the deputy, at a cost to the public of $200 million,” 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 incorrect but declined to offer additional clarification.

The legislature had previously approved the so-called “major immigration bill” in the summer, which dedicates roughly $170bn for immigration and border security operations, a amount 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.

Leaked data examined from private airline GlobalX detailed the journeys of tens of thousands of immigrants who have been transported around the country before deportation.