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The head of the US Department of Homeland Security allegedly authorized the purchase of Spirit Airline aircraft before learning that the carrier did not truly possess the planes – and that the aircraft lacked engines.

This bizarre anecdote was contained in a report published on the end of the week, which recounted how the secretary and a former political strategist had recently attempted to purchase ten Boeing 737 planes from the airline. Sources with knowledge informed the outlet that the pair planned to use the jets to expand deportation flights – and for personal travel.

Those sources also claimed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials had cautioned them that purchasing aircraft would be far more expensive than simply expanding existing flight contracts.

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Complicating matters further, Spirit, which entered bankruptcy protection for the second time in August, did not own the aircraft and their power plants would have had to be bought independently. The proposal has since been halted, according to the investigation.

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers on the House appropriations committee said in the autumn that during this season's record-long federal 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 United States Coast Guard signed a sole source agreement with Gulfstream Aerospace to procure two new G700 luxury jets to support travel for the secretary and the deputy, at a expense to the taxpayer of $200 million,” Democratic representatives wrote in a letter to the DHS.

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

The legislature had previously approved the termed “major immigration bill” in the summer, which dedicates roughly $170bn for immigration-related and border-related operations, a amount that makes ICE the most heavily funded law enforcement agency in the US government.

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

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