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

This strange anecdote was contained in a investigation published on the end of the week, which described how the official and a former political strategist had recently arranged to buy 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from the airline. People familiar with the situation told the paper that the two planned to use the planes to expand removal flights – and for personal travel.

Those insiders also stated that ICE officials had cautioned them that purchasing aircraft would be far more expensive than simply increasing current charter agreements.

ICE facing intense criticism after footage reportedly shows unresponsive individual clutching infant during detention.

Complicating matters further, Spirit, which filed for 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 paused, according to the investigation.

In the interim, Democrats on the House appropriations committee said in October that during this fall's record-long government shutdown, the Department of Homeland Security had already acquired two Gulfstream jets for $200m.

“It has come to our attention that, in the midst of a federal shutdown, the US Coast Guard signed a single-source agreement with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to procure two new G700 luxury jets to support travel for the secretary and the deputy, at a cost to the public of $200m,” Democratic representatives wrote in a communication to the department.

A DHS spokesperson informed the outlet that some details in the report about the plane purchases were incorrect but refused to provide additional clarification.

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

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

Leaked data examined from charter airline GlobalX outlined the travels of thousands of individuals who have been shuttled around the country before deportation.