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WASHINGTON — The Department of 91Ö±²¥land Security recently doubled its fleet of jets to carry out deportations under the Trump administration, shelling out $304 million for five planes, including two high-end Gulfstreams, according to government documents and interviews.

The contract to buy the planes is intended to make it easier and, department officials say, cheaper to expel people from the country. But it is coming under scrutiny for its overall price tag as well as the inclusion of the Gulfstreams, which can accommodate fewer than 20 passengers and are more typically used as private jets for C-suite executives and high-net-worth individuals.

The purchase late last month included the two Gulfstream G650ER jets, two Boeing 737 planes, and a Boeing 737 Max, according to two people familiar with the purchase. In total, the Department of 91Ö±²¥land Security has bought 10 jets as part of an effort to acquire and operate its own fleet of planes to deport people.

Administration officials have said it would save taxpayer money for the department to operate its own planes. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has typically relied on chartered flights and commercial airlines to carry out deportations. But the purchase of the Gulfstreams struck some aviation experts as a puzzling choice.

Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace consultant, said he thought the department had many options to buy less expensive jets that could be used for deportations. “These are jets normally associated with billionaires,” he said.

It is unclear how the department will move forward with the plan to operate its own fleet. A department spokesperson said in a statement Friday that the agency was “assessing” its resources, including the planes, under the new homeland security secretary, Markwayne Mullin.

“Under new leadership, DHS is assessing all our resources, including aircraft, to maximize efficiency and continue to deliver on President Trump’s mission of securing the homeland for all Americans,” the statement said. “Secretary Mullin is 100 percent focused on ensuring the needs of our department are met while being the best possible steward of taxpayer dollars.”

The money for the jets comes from Trump’s major domestic policy bill, which Republicans in Congress passed last year. The package gave the department more than $170 billion over four years to deliver on Trump’s pledge to deport millions of immigrants in the United States.

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