London. The British judiciary on Friday authorized the controversial plan of the government of Boris Johnson to expel migrants and asylum seekers who enter its territory illegally to Rwanda, an African country 7,000 kilometers from the United Kingdom.

The first flight, carrying about thirty migrants, is scheduled to start next Tuesday.

In an attempt to block this, a union and two NGOs launched an urgent lawsuit last Wednesday in a London court.

But, after a day of hearings, Judge Jonathan Swift dismissed their arguments, saying it was “important in the public interest for the Home Secretary to be able to enforce immigration control decisions.”

The plaintiffs, including the NGOs Care4Calais and Detention Action and several asylum seekers, for whom this is an “illegal policy”, immediately filed an appeal that should be considered on Monday.

A few months ago, the British government negotiated with Rwanda to send migrants and refugees secretly entering the UK to that country with a worrying human rights balance.

Its goal, according to London, is to discourage the crossing of immigrants from the French coast. So far this year, more than 10,000 have arrived in the country illegally.