British Foreign Secretary Liz Trace announced that “the first flights of asylum seekers to Rwanda will depart today,” adding that “we don’t yet know how many people are on board.”

A British Court of Appeal ruled yesterday to allow Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government to move forward with a plan to deport the first batch of illegal immigrants to Rwanda, despite criticism of human rights and the rule of law raised by the case.

The decision of the British Court of Appeal to deport the first batch of asylum seekers to Rwanda confirms the previous decision of the UK Supreme Court on this matter.

The new government’s plan includes providing illegal migrants deported from British soil to Rwanda with housing and support while their asylum application is being processed by the East African country, and if approved, they can stay there for up to five years, during which they receive education and financial support.

In return, those whose asylum claims were not accepted in Rwanda will be offered the opportunity to obtain a visa to stay in that country, but the threat of deportation from Rwanda will still threaten them.

The new decision is seen as a victory for the Johnson government, which has faced political and human rights criticism, as well as a UN warning that the plan to deport refugees to Rwanda is “illegal” and “disastrous”.

In defending this policy, the UK justifies itself by saying that it “seeks to undermine human smuggling networks and reduce the flow of migrants who risk their lives to cross the English Channel in small boats from Europe.”