The Trump administration wants to deport more people at a quicker pace.
In its latest move to ramp up the mass deportation effort, the Department of Homeland Security signed a roughly $140 million contract to buy six Boeing 737 planes to operate flights without the assistance of outside contractors, according to The Washington Post.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation flights via what’s known as “ICE Air” have long relied on charter companies to carry out removals.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said on X Wednesday that the effort will save American taxpayers $279 million.
“These planes will allow ICE to operate more effectively, including by using more efficient flight patterns,” McLaughlin said. “President Trump and @Sec_Noem are committed to quickly and efficiently getting criminal illegal aliens OUT of our country.”
The Trump administration has already deported more than 579,000 illegal immigrants, according to President Trump’s Border Czar, Tom Homan. Still, they are short of their lofty goal of carrying out one million deportations each year.
The latest contract was awarded to Daedalus Aviation, which was established in February 2024 and “offers a full range of commercial and charter aviation services” and “provides comprehensive responsive flight operations tailored to the unique needs of each mission,” according to The Washington Post.
Funding for the new initiative comes from the Republican-backed One Big Beautiful Bill that gave DHS a whopping $165 billion earlier this year.
Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, along with her advisor Corey Lewandowski, ordered agency officials to purchase 10 737 jets from Spirit Airlines to carry out their own deportation flights.
Both Noem and Lewandowski were warned that it would be more cost-effective to hire more flight contractors, according to the outlet. It was also later discovered that the planes didn’t have engines.
The Trump administration has pressured ICE to increase the number of arrests to meet its deportation goals, but sources within the agency have told The Daily Wire that the pace is unsustainable.
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