The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will spend nearly $140 million to buy six Boeing 737 planes that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will use for deportation flights.The Washington Post first reported the details o f the contract.In an interview with CNBC, DHS Spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin claimed the new initiative will save "$279 million in taxpayer dollars."RELATED STORY | Fear and shuttered stores as immigration raids hit Louisianas Hispanic heartThe funding for the new fleet of planes will come from President Donald Trump's $170 billion tax bill that Congress approved earlier this year, according to reporting from The Washington Post citing an anonymous source.Deportation flights are currently carried out by charter-flight companies hired by a division of ICE.Some Republican members of Congress praised DHS Secretary Kristi Noem during a hearing on Capitol Hill on Thursday with the House Homeland Security Committee.Watch: Deportation flights begin as White House pursues new immigration enforcement priorities ...read more read less