The number of people on the first flight from Rwanda is expected to be in the single digits.
The number of asylum seekers scheduled to be deported from the UK on the first deportation flight to Rwanda has been reduced to near zero.
The Court of Appeal will decide later whether the Home Office flight can depart on Tuesday as planned.
Campaigners and migrants failed last week in the High Court to obtain an injunction against the government’s policy.
However, the planned number of removals has rapidly decreased, with 11 scheduled to be on the first flight, according to the court.
According to a Home Office source, of the original 37 flights scheduled, legal challenges relating to modern slavery and human rights claims have significantly reduced the number of flights.
According to the charity, 11 people are still scheduled to fly to east Africa on Tuesday, including four Iranians, two Iraqis, two Albanians, and one Syrian. The other two’s nationalities have not been revealed.
However, Mark Easton expects the total to be “whittled down to zero” before the plane takes off.
Up to 130 people had been notified that they could be removed as of Friday.
According to the UK government, sending some asylum seekers who arrive illegally in the UK to Rwanda will deter new arrivals and thus undermine smuggling gangs.
People will be housed and supported in Rwanda while their asylum applications are reviewed by the Rwandan government.
If they are successful, they will be able to stay for up to five years with access to education and support.
Those who are denied asylum in Rwanda will be given the opportunity to apply for other immigration routes, but they may still face deportation.
On Sunday, 111 people arrived in the UK via three small boat crossings, bringing the total number of arrivals to over 10,000 this year.
The Public and Commercial Services Union, which represents 80 percent of Border Force staff, along with the charities Care4Calais and Detention Action, have filed an appeal against the Home Office’s policy.
Opening the claimants’ appeal, Raza Husain QC told the Court of Appeal that it wasn’t until Friday afternoon that they learned the full extent of the seriousness.
