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The head of the United States Department of Homeland Security allegedly authorized the purchase of Spirit Airlines aircraft before learning that the airline did not truly possess the planes – and that the aircraft were missing power plants.

This bizarre anecdote was detailed in a investigation 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 informed the outlet that the pair intended to use the planes to increase removal flights – and for personal travel.

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

Immigration officials facing intense criticism after footage reportedly shows unconscious man clutching child during detention.

Complicating matters further, the airline, which filed for bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in August, did not own the jets and their engines would have had to be acquired separately. The plan has since been paused, according to the investigation.

In the interim, Democrats on the House appropriations committee said in the autumn that during this fall's historically lengthy 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 US Coast Guard signed a single-source contract with Gulfstream Aerospace to acquire two new G700 luxury aircraft to support travel for you and the deputy secretary, at a expense to the taxpayer of $200 million,” Democratic representatives wrote in a letter to the department.

A department representative told the Journal that parts of its reporting about the aircraft acquisitions were incorrect but declined to provide additional clarification.

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

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

Leaked data examined from private airline GlobalX outlined the travels of tens of thousands of immigrants who have been shuttled around the country before removal.