Homeland Security Secretary Allegedly Approved Purchase of Ten Engine-Free Spirit Airline Aircraft Which Airline Didn't Own
The secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security allegedly approved the purchase of Spirit Airlines aircraft before discovering that the airline did not truly possess the aircraft – and that the planes were missing engines.
This bizarre incident was detailed in a report published on the end of the week, which described how the secretary and a ex- political strategist had recently attempted to buy ten Boeing 737 planes from Spirit Airlines. Sources with knowledge told the paper that the pair planned to use the planes to increase removal flights – and for personal travel.
Those sources also claimed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had warned them that buying planes would be far more expensive than simply increasing existing flight contracts.
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Complicating matters further, Spirit, which entered bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in August, did not own the jets and their power plants would have had to be acquired independently. The proposal has since been halted, according to the report.
In the interim, Democrats on the House funding panel said in October that during this fall's historically lengthy government shutdown, the DHS had already purchased 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 contract with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to acquire two new G700 luxury jets to support travel for you and the deputy, at a expense to the taxpayer of $200 million,” Democratic representatives wrote in a letter to the DHS.
A DHS spokesperson told the Journal that parts of its reporting about the plane purchases were inaccurate but refused to provide further details.
Congress had previously authorized the termed “major immigration bill” in the summer, which dedicates roughly $170 billion for immigration and border-related operations, a sum that makes ICE the most well-funded law enforcement agency in the federal government.
In the autumn, it was revealed that the government was moving immigrants held as part of its removal program in ways that breached their constitutionally protected rights, often by air.
Confidential information examined from private airline GlobalX outlined the journeys of thousands of individuals who have been shuttled around the country before deportation.
