Deportations could reach new heights—at least in the way of flights—in the New Year after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed plans to buy its own jets to send illegal aliens back home.
DHS has signed a contract with Daedalus Aviation for the nearly $140 million purchase. The department said it will purchase six Boeing 737s for use by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in deportations.
The Trump administration hopes to cut costs and accelerate the rate of deportation flights by cutting out the middleman and operating its own fleet of jets.
“These planes will allow ICE to operate more effectively, including by using more efficient flight patterns,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin shared in a post on X. “President Trump and Secretary Noem are committed to quickly and efficiently getting criminal illegal aliens OUT of our country.”
*Somehow* the @washingtonpost forgot to include anywhere in their story that this new initiative will save the US taxpayer $279 MILLION.
I guess they didn’t want the public to know?
These planes will allow ICE to operate more effectively, including by using more efficient… https://t.co/rpSXb80lC2
— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) December 10, 2025
Various news outlets, including The Washington Post and The Hill, confirmed the deal.
In the same X post, McLaughlin called out The Post for omitting the savings to taxpayers. The Post was also recently criticized for “scummy journalism” by U.S. Department of War Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson.
“*Somehow* the @washingtonpost forgot to include anywhere in their story that this new initiative will save the US taxpayer $279 MILLION,” McLaughlin wrote. “I guess they didn’t want the public to know?”
The jets are another tool to carry out the administration’s goal of mass deportations. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has said she wants ICE to have dedicated aircraft for removals, Newsmax reported.
The funding comes from the $170 billion earmarked in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for Donald Trump’s immigration agenda.
Until now, DHS has relied on charter planes when carrying out deportations. The deal will eliminate or reduce the need for chartered flights, which can delay or complicate the removal process.
Several of those flights have been stopped by activist judges blocking them from leaving — some while they have been on the tarmac. In late August, a federal judge, Sparkle Sooknanan, temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting hundreds of unaccompanied minors from Guatemala. Her order halted flights after children were already on planes in Texas.
Newsmax reported two officials familiar with the contract and records reviewed by the Post said ICE may have broader plans for the aircraft.
The Hill reported Daedalus Aviation Corporation established in Virginia in February 2024, according to corporate records. As of Friday, William Allen Walters III is listed as its president and Taundria Cappel is listed as its treasurer and chief financial officer.
According to Human Rights First’s ICE Flight Monitor report, ICE has conducted 1,701 deportation flights to 77 countries between Jan. 20 and Oct. 31.
The group tracks both domestic transfers and international removals and states that ICE Air Operations carried out most enforcement flights.
Both executives are also listed in leadership roles at Salus Worldwide Solutions, which holds a separate DHS contract nearing $1 billion to support voluntary self-deportation, Newsmax reported.
That award is under litigation, with critics claiming in court filings that it was an unlawful and noncompetitive process.
Trump officials had set a goal of deporting one million illegals in Trump’s first year. And although ICE is on a record pace for arrests, detentions and removals, Border Czar Tom Homan most recently reported the removal of 579,000 illegals.
DHS has not released confirmed totals but issued a news release reporting 2.5 million illegal aliens have left the U.S. this year through a combination of deportations and voluntary departures.
DHS data shows that nearly 66,000 immigrants are in federal detention, Newsmax reported.
