A long-abandoned proposal at the Department of Homeland Security – one so ambitious the agency had never gone through with it before – was revived under the leadership of then-Secretary Kristi Noem.
Officials spent tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to buy the department its own fleet of aircraft and started laying the groundwork for shifting away from relying on charter airline companies for deportation flights, as it had for decades. Ultimately, they planned to start their own mini airline to help execute President Donald Trump’s aim to deport 1 million undocumented immigrants a year.
Now DHS tells CNN exclusively it plans to start using the planes for deportation flights soon – using contractors to operate the planes – after new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin reevaluated the plan. Mullin, who replaced Noem in March, had undertaken an agency-wide review of contracts signed during her tenure.
“We anticipate we will be able to integrate these planes into our deportation efforts in the coming weeks,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement.
Under Noem, DHS officials argued the move would save taxpayers $280 million, in part by allowing the department to fly more efficient routes, though they didn’t give a timeframe for those savings.
