UK's contentious emergency legislation allowing asylum seekers to be returned to Rwanda has passed its first parliamentary hurdle.
The bill was approved by a vote of 313 to 269 in the House of Commons. It was intended to address concerns highlighted by the UK Supreme Court, which found the program illegal last month.
The Rwanda program, approved by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson in April 2022, is intended to prevent migrants from attempting the risky crossing over the Channel in small boats or inflatable dinghies.
Anyone who entered the country illegally after January 1, 2022, would face deportation to Rwanda, some 4,000 miles (6,400 km) away.
The first deportation flight, scheduled for June 2022, was halted by a last-minute injunction issued by the European Court of Human Rights.
Did you read this?
Last month, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld a finding that the plan was illegal because Rwanda was not a safe third nation, and migrants faced being returned to their home countries, where they would face mistreatment.
Even though no deportations have occurred, Britain has already paid Rwanda 240 million pounds. While Britain plans to send thousands of migrants, Rwanda currently only has room for a few hundred.
The "Safety of Rwanda Bill" is up for a vote in parliament's House of Commons on Tuesday, where Sunak's Conservatives now hold a working majority of 56.
In theory, if 29 MPs (Members of Parliament) revolted or 56 abstained, the government would be defeated, though it might still pass with the support of independents or Northern Irish parliamentarians.
No government bill has been defeated at this level in the legislative process since 1986, and the bill could not be reintroduced during the same parliamentary session, implying that the policy would not be implemented in time for the upcoming election.
