U.K.’s first flight set to deport migrants to Rwanda after court refuses to block plan

While a major precedent is at stake, the number of people immediately affected by the cases has been steadily whittled down as lawyers challenge the merits of each deportation order. The charity Care4Calais said all but eight of the 31 migrants originally told they would be on the flight to Rwanda have had their tickets canceled.

The court cases came amid a bitter political debate over Johnson’s deportation plan.

The leadership of the Church of England has joined the opposition, sending a joint letter to the Times of London to be published Tuesday.

“Whether or not the first deportation flight leaves Britain today for Rwanda, this policy should shame us as a nation,” the letter said. “The shame is our own, because our Christian heritage should inspire us to treat asylum seekers with compassion, fairness and justice, as we have for centuries.”

Johnson defended the policy.

“I think that most people can see that the criminal gangs … need to be stopped,″ he said. “That model needs to be frustrated.″

He also dismissed the significance of the legal challenges.

“I always said that it will begin with a lot of teething problems and you will have a lot of legal action against it and they will try and delay it — that’s inevitable,″ he said during a visit to a farm.

Rwanda is one of the most densely populated countries in the world and still among the least developed despite its focus on modernizing since the country’s 1994 genocide.

The migrants who sought better lives in Britain are expected to find fewer chances to pursue their dreams there, even as Rwandan officials describe their country as having a proud history of welcoming those in need.

For years, human rights groups have accused Rwanda’s government of cracking down on perceived dissent and keeping tight control on many aspects of life, from jailing critics to keeping homeless people off the streets of the capital, Kigali. The government denies it.