@m0nica_anderson: The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed it will spend nearly $140 million to buy six Boeing 737 aircraft, giving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement its own dedicated fleet for deportation flights instead of relying on chartered carriers. The contract was awarded to Daedalus Aviation, a Virginia-based company established in 2024. DHS says the shift away from charter flights, historically handled by carriers such as Avelo Air, GlobalX Air, Eastern Air Express, Omni Air International and World Atlantic Airlines, will let ICE control its own routing and scheduling. DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the initiative will save “$279 million in taxpayer dollars by allowing ICE to operate more effectively, including by using more efficient flight patterns.” She added that “President Trump and Secretary Noem are committed to quickly and efficiently getting criminal illegal aliens OUT of our country.” The purchase is funded through the roughly $170 billion appropriated for border and immigration enforcement under the budget reconciliation package Trump signed into law in July. It comes as the administration pursues a stated goal of removing one million people from the country, with ICE reporting more than 579,000 removals so far. Daedalus Aviation’s leadership also holds identical roles at Salus Worldwide Solutions, a separate firm with a nearly $1 billion DHS contract supporting voluntary self-deportation. Not everyone is convinced the arrangement will pay off. Industry analysts have noted that owning aircraft saddles DHS with the ongoing costs of crews, maintenance, dispatch and airport fees, and former ICE and DHS officials have said a dedicated fleet could ultimately prove more expensive than the charter contracts it replaces. Questions also remain about what happens to the planes once the current administration leaves office, given that ICE Air Operations has historically depended on flexible, short-term charter agreements rather than owned aircraft.

Monica Anderson

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Tuesday 13 October 2026 15:08:11 GMT