The purchase of Spirit Airlines planes has been suspended

• Governor Kristi Noem planned to buy planes from Spirit Airlines for deportation.
• Spirit Airlines did not provide the planes they wanted to purchase.
• The Department of Homeland Security acquired two Gulfstream jets for $200 million.

Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, previously sanctioned the purchase of Spirit Airlines planes, not knowing that the airline does not actually own these planes, and that they do not have engines.

This situation was highlighted in a report by the Wall Street Journal, which noted that Noem and her colleague, Senator Kevin Leavandowski, planned to acquire ten Boeing 737 jets to increase the capacity for deportation flights under President Donald Trump's policy, as well as for personal travel.

Sources reported that employees of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) warned them that purchasing the planes would be much more expensive than extending existing contracts for flights. However, Spirit Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy in September, did not own the planes, and the engines for them had to be purchased separately.

The plan is currently suspended, as noted by Journal. Meanwhile, Democrats on the committee assigned to the House of Representatives stated that during the ongoing government shutdown, the Department of Homeland Security already acquired two Gulfstream jets for $200 million.

Democratic representatives Roza DeLoro and Loren Andervood stated in a letter to the Department that during the government shutdown, a contract was signed with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation for the purchase of two new luxury G700 jets, which exceeded the budget by $200 million.

The spokesperson of the Department stated that part of the report on the purchase of planes was inaccurate, but did not clarify what exactly was inaccurate.

In July, Congress approved what is called Trump's "big beautiful wall" which allocates approximately $170 billion for immigration and operations related to the border. This funding provided ICE the opportunity for rapid removal of immigrants.

Tags: USA/Politics/Aviation