UPDATE: UK Court Allows First Migrant Deportation Flight To Rwanda

The United Kingdom’s controversial plan to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda as early as Tuesday is set to go ahead after the Court of Appeal in London confirmed an earlier decision to deny an injunction to block the first flight.

Britain’s government announced in April that it had agreed a deal to send asylum-seekers to the east African country. Those granted asylum would then be allowed to resettle in Rwanda.

The government insisted the program was aimed at disrupting people-smuggling networks and deterring migrants from making the dangerous sea journey across the Channel to England from France.

The plan sparked a wave of criticism from charities, religious leaders and international human rights groups, including the United Nations Refugee Agency. A small crowd of protesters gathered in front of the court on Monday.

A separate legal case brought by the charity Asylum Aid is also being considered by the High Court on Monday. Asylum Aid is seeking an urgent injunction to halt the flight to allow judicial review of the plan to be heard.

According to data from the UK’s Ministry of Defence, 28,526 people arrived in the UK on small boats in 2021.