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The secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security reportedly approved the purchase of Spirit Airlines aircraft before discovering that the airline did not truly possess the aircraft – and that the aircraft lacked engines.

This strange incident was detailed in a report published on the end of the week, which described how the secretary and a former campaign manager had recently attempted to buy 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from the airline. People familiar with the situation told the paper that the two intended to use the planes to increase removal flights – and for private use.

Those insiders also stated that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had warned them that purchasing aircraft would be far more expensive than simply expanding current charter agreements.

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Making the situation more complex, Spirit, which entered bankruptcy protection for the second time in the summer, did not possess the jets and their power plants would have had to be bought separately. The proposal has since been paused, according to the report.

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

“It has come to our attention that, in the middle of a government shutdown, the United States Coast Guard entered into a single-source agreement with Gulfstream Aerospace to procure two new G700 luxury aircraft to support travel for you and the deputy secretary, at a cost to the taxpayer of $200m,” Democratic lawmakers 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 declined to provide further details.

The legislature had previously authorized the termed “major immigration bill” in July, which dedicates roughly $170bn for immigration and border security operations, a sum that makes Immigration and Customs Enforcement the most well-funded law enforcement agency in the federal government.

In the autumn, it was revealed that the administration was moving immigrants held as part of its deportation agenda in ways that breached their legal rights, often by plane.

Leaked data reviewed from private airline Global Crossing outlined the travels of thousands of immigrants who have been shuttled around the country before deportation.