Despite new worries about the contentious policy, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Rwandan President Paul Kagame underlined on Tuesday that Britain expects to begin transporting unauthorized migrants to the African country soon.
Prime Minister Sunak welcomed Kagame to his official house in London, just as a British publication revealed that apartments in Kigali meant for deported migrants had been sold to local bidders.
According to a government official, Sunak updated President Kagame on the “next stages of the legislation in parliament,” which is at the center of the standoff.
“Both leaders looked forward to flights departing for Rwanda in the spring,” the statement continued.
Sending individuals to Rwanda is an important aspect of Sunak’s strategy for deterring asylum seekers who risk their lives crossing the Channel from France in small boats.
The proposed law is going through parliamentary “ping-pong” in which the elected House of Commons and the unelected House of Lords return the bill to each other for modifications.
The latest suggestions from the Lords will be considered by the Commons on April 15.
The deportation scheme has been fraught with controversy and legal hurdles since Boris Johnson announced it in 2022 as prime minister.
Sunak submitted emergency legislation last year after the Supreme Court decided that transporting asylum seekers to Kigali violated international law.
The proposal tries to require judges to treat Rwanda as a safe third country, while also granting UK ministers the authority to disregard portions of international and British human rights legislation.
According to the Times, 70 percent of the 163 homes erected in Rwanda’s capital have been purchased, leaving only a few dozen spaces for asylum seekers.
A Rwandan government official denied the number of houses sold, claiming that the estate was one of several housing projects where migrants will live among Rwandans.
Sunak hopes that sending undocumented migrants on a one-way aircraft to Kigali will help him fend off a resurgent opposition Labour Party in this year’s general elections.