Washington DC - The Department of Homeland Security is buying its own fleet of Boeing jets for use in President Donald Trump's aggressive deportation efforts, a spokeswoman confirmed on Wednesday.

"These planes will allow ICE to operate more effectively, including by using more efficient flight patterns," Tricia McLaughlin said in a post on X, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"This new initiative will save the US taxpayer $279 MILLION," she said, responding to a Washington Post article about the deal.

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Boeing declined to comment when contacted by AFP, and the Post reported that the nearly $140 million contract for six 737 jets was with a firm called Daedalus Aviation that was established in early 2024, rather than a direct purchase from the aviation giant that manufactured them.

Trump has made preventing unlawful immigration and expelling undocumented migrants top priorities during his second term, and has taken a number of actions aimed at speeding up deportations and reducing border crossings.

There have been more than 1,700 deportation flights to dozens of countries since Trump returned to office in January, according to the group Human Rights First.

Trump's sweeping immigration crackdown – which has involved numerous raids by masked law enforcement personnel – has sparked significant criticsm, leading to multiple legal challenges as well as protests in some Democratic-led cities.

The administration says more than two million undocumented immigrants have left the country since January: 1.6 million voluntarily, while the rest were deported.