KIGALI, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The Rwandan Ministry of Infrastructure on Sunday launched the construction of new homes meant to accommodate migrants deported from the United Kingdom (UK).
UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Rwanda's Minister of Infrastructure Ernest Nsabimana officiated the groundbreaking ceremony at the Gahanga sector in Rwanda's Kicukiro District.
The housing development project for 528 housing units, supposed to take six months, will be implemented under the UK-Rwanda Migration Partnership, Nsabimana said.
The UK reached a deal with Rwanda in April 2022, under which illegal immigrants and asylum-seekers are to be sent to the east African country to have their claims processed there.
The British government hoped the deal will help deter migrants from making the risky journey across the English Channel on small boats.
Last December, judges at the UK's High Court ruled that the government's plan to send asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda is lawful, but they also criticized the government for failing to properly assess the circumstances of the eight individuals it tried to move under the scheme earlier that year. The deal faces another legal obstacle in the UK Court of Appeal challenging the High Court ruling.
More than 44,000 migrants were reported to have arrived in the UK across the channel last year. ■