The Department of Homeland Security has signed a nearly $140m contract to purchase six Boeing 737 planes for deportation operations.

The contract, signed with the Virginia-based firm Daedalus Aviation, was first reported by the Washington Post on Wednesday and later confirmed by DHS.

In a statement to the Guardian confirming the purchase, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said: “This new initiative will save $279 million in taxpayer dollars by allowing ICE to operate more effectively, including by using more efficient flight patterns.”

She added: “President Trump and Secretary Noem are committed to quickly and efficiently getting criminal illegal aliens OUT of our country.”

The Guardian has reached out to Daedalus Aviation for comment. According to its website, the company “provides comprehensive, responsive flight operations tailored to the unique needs of each mission”, ranging from “high-tempo government-directed evacuations to sensitive international repatriations”.

It added: “Whether operating in contested airspace, remote locations, or under diplomatic sensitivity, we deliver aviation support that moves people – and missions – forward.”

According to the Washington Post, funding for the new fleet will come from the congressionally-approved $170bn budget allocated for Trump’s border and immigration policies. That budget also includes funding for new detention centers, ICE enforcement operations and construction of the border wall.

The new contract is the latest in a series of steps taken by DHS as part of Trump’s pledge to carry out the “largest deportation operation in American history”.

In November, the Wall Street Journal reported that Kristi Noem, the DHS secretary, and Corey Lewandowski, a senior Trump adviser, instructed ICE to purchase 10 Boeing 737s from Spirit Airlines to expand deportation flights and possibly for their own travel, according to people familiar with the plan.

However, officials warned that buying aircraft would be far more expensive than contracting flights and upon looking into the proposal, they found that Spirit does not actually own the jets and that the planes lack engines. The plan was eventually put on hold.

In October, DHS announced that 1.6 million people had self-deported from the US while another 500,000 had been deported. However, experts have questioned the agency’s claims, citing limited transparency around immigration data.

Since taking office and through the end of October, Trump’s administration has conducted 1,701 deportation flights to 77 countries, marking a 79% increase over the same period in 2024 when the Joe Biden administration carried out removals to 43 countries.

Meanwhile, recent government figures have shown that immigrants with no criminal record constitute the largest share of those held in US immigration detention.

Earlier this year, a Guardian investigation also revealed that the charter airline Global Crossing (GlobalX) operated more than 1,700 ICE flights between January and May, most of them between US domestic airports. Among the passengers were nearly 1,000 children, almost half of whom were under the age of 10.