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The secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security reportedly approved the purchase of Spirit Airlines aircraft before learning that the carrier did not actually own the planes – and that the aircraft were missing engines.

This bizarre anecdote was detailed in a report released on the end of the week, which recounted how the official and a former political strategist had recently arranged to purchase ten Boeing 737 planes from the airline. Sources with knowledge informed the outlet that the pair intended to use the planes to increase removal flights – and for private use.

Those sources also stated that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had warned them that purchasing aircraft would be significantly costlier than simply expanding current charter agreements.

Immigration officials facing intense criticism after footage apparently shows unconscious man clutching child during arrest.

Making the situation more complex, the airline, which filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time in the summer, did not own the aircraft and their power plants would have had to be acquired separately. The proposal has since been halted, according to the investigation.

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers on the House funding panel said in the autumn that during this season's record-long government shutdown, the Department of Homeland Security had already acquired two Gulfstream aircraft for $200m.

“It has come to our attention that, in the midst of a federal shutdown, the US Coast Guard entered into a single-source contract with Gulfstream Aerospace to acquire two new G700 luxury aircraft to support travel for the secretary and the deputy secretary, at a expense to the taxpayer of $200 million,” Democratic lawmakers wrote in a communication to the DHS.

A DHS spokesperson told the Journal that some details in the report about the aircraft acquisitions were incorrect but declined to provide additional clarification.

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

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

Leaked data reviewed from private airline GlobalX detailed the journeys of tens of thousands of individuals who have been transported around the country before removal.