The Trump administration is on the hunt for aviation companies to handle the running of deportation flights, with the Department of Homeland Security effectively assembling its own fleet.
It is part of the administration’s plans to bolster its deportation efforts following a cash injection of $464.5 million and marks a departure from the use of military aircraft or charter flights.
“The Government requires a contractor to provide flight operations, maintenance, and contractor logistics support for a fleet of aircraft utilized to support removal operations for deportations, voluntary repatriation, high-risk charter operations, deployment of crisis response personnel, medical evacuations, and movement of senior officials in support of continuity directives and diplomatic engagement,” the notice on the government’s System for Award Management website said.
Locations “may include remote, primitive, or austere environments,” said the notice, first reported by Bloomberg.
The notice added that successful contractors would be responsible for the running of two C-37B or equivalent Gulfstream 650ERs and seven Boeing 737-700s or equivalent, and supporting operations 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, “with short-notice mission tasking.”
It did not specify the worth of the contracts.
The Independent has contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem first began the push for the department to have its own fleet. Her purchases included a Boeing 737 Max 8 – which featured a queen-size bed, showers, a kitchen, four flat-screen TVs, and a cocktail bar – which was earmarked at the time for use in carrying out “high-profile deportations.”
She also bought a $70 million Gulfstream G700. The jets were a contributing factor in Noem’s firing after she was questioned by lawmakers about her spending at the helm of the department, including a $220 million ad campaign in which she featured.
It was not immediately clear whether the jets would be included in the latest operations contract, but Noem’s replacement, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, told lawmakers that he has used the G700 on occasion to travel between his home in Oklahoma and Washington, D.C.
Democratic lawmakers urged Mullin to sell the planes during a June 3 congressional hearing, describing the jets as the “most obscene taxpayer-funded symbols of waste.”
“Why do I need to sell them?” Mullin replied at the hearing.
Companies have until July 22 to apply.
