DHS rolled out a new plane. Here’s why it might look familiar
By Priscilla Alvarez, Pete Muntean, CNN
(CNN) — The Department of Homeland Security’s newest airplane has a very familiar, very Trumpian look.
Photos captured over the weekend at Reagan National Airport outside Washington, DC, show the department’s newly acquired Boeing 737 adorned with a design akin to President Donald Trump’s proposed paint scheme for a new Air Force One — a deep red stripe down the middle of the aircraft, a dark blue underbelly and an American flag painted on the tail. Both use colors similar to Trump’s private 757, known as “Trump Force One.”
Beyond just reflecting Trump’s taste, the planes may have another connection.
Open-source flight tracking records compiled by ADS-B Exchange show that before arriving in the DC area, the new DHS plane made stops in Ardmore, Oklahoma and Lake Charles, Louisiana. Landlocked Aviation, the same company involved in repainting Trump Force One, has an office in Lake Charles.
Asked for comment by CNN, Landlocked Aviation would not confirm it was involved in repainting the plane. CNN also reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for additional details.
The DHS plane previously carried a deep grey and gold paint scheme, according to photos posted online.
Back during Trumps first term, he unveiled a new look for Air Force One, revealing four mock-ups of a red, white and blue presidential plane with an American flag on the tail that he said in an interview with ABC were “all slightly different.” A model of the redesigned plane was also displayed on the coffee table in the Oval Office. But the proposal was later abandoned under the Biden administration due to cost and engineering concerns.
DHS, meanwhile, got an historic infusion of cash from Congress earlier this year to fuel the president’s mass deportation agenda. Those funds have in part been used to create the department’s own fleet of 737 jets to carry out deportations and facilitate Cabinet travel.
The Washington Post first reported that the administration inked a multi-million contract to buy the planes.
“This new plane will serve dual missions— both as ICE deportation flights and for cabinet level travel. This plane flies at 40% cheaper than what the military aircraft flies for ICE deportation flights — saving the American taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars,” said Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin in a statement.
DHS announced this month that it carried out more than 605,000 deportations since Trump took office in January. From Inauguration Day through October, there were 1,701 removal flights to a record 77 countries, marking an increase from the same period under the Biden administration, according to Human Rights First, which monitors ICE flights.
The agency has generally relied on charter flight companies for removals.
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