Trump's DHS-owned deportation fleet makes first removal flights

Alicia A. Caldwell and Siddharth Philip, Bloomberg News on Oct 29, 2026

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WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security for the first time has used one of its recently acquired planes to send deportees to Mexico, potentially ending months of uncertainty about jets bought under former Secretary Kristi Noem.

A DHS-owned 737-700 plane made by Boeing Co. made two trips from Texas to Mexico on Wednesday and Thursday, according to publicly available flight tracking data and Human Rights First, a nonprofit that tracks deportation flights.

The department, which typically uses charter aviation companies to make such flights, early this year acquired seven 737s that were formerly used by Avelo Airlines as part of a plan to bolster President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.

DHS said at the time that a government-owned fleet would allow the administration to ease its reliance on contract airlines and expand deportation operations.

Critics have questioned the need to own a fleet, given the agency’s sprawling network of contract airlines, along with access to military aircraft and and to commercial flights.

The DHS-owned planes had been largely idle, used for fewer than five domestic flights each since April 2026, according to data from global aircraft tracker ADS-B Exchange.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

The department, now under the leadership of former Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin, in July sought information from possible contractors about how they might propose running deportation operations and other missions, including flights for senior department officials.

In September, DHS said it was looking to repurpose four planes to be used for Congressional delegations and other VIP trips. The contracting notice did not specify what the agency planned to do with three other 737s.

The fate of the planes renewed questions about how DHS has spent billions of dollars approved by Congress last year to carry out Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda.