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The Dominican Republic will start deporting 10,000 undocumented Haitians a week in a new plan that is being hailed at home but which is igniting concerns from human rights groups because these refugees would be returned to a country suffering staggering levels of violence, Le Monde reported.

Presidential spokesman Homero Figueroa said Wednesday that the plan is aimed at reducing “the excessive migrant populations detected in Dominican communities.” He said the deportations would start “immediately” and be done “according to strict protocols that ensure respect for human rights.”

Officials in the Caribbean island explained that the move comes as the United Nations-backed mission to restore security in Haiti has been slow to improve the situation there. Last week, President Luis Abinader told the UN General Assembly that we must take “drastic measures” if the mission in Haiti fails, the Associated Press noted.

Since coming to power, Abinader has taken a tough stance on emigrating Haitians, including building a 102-mile concrete wall between the two countries.

Last year, Dominican Republic authorities deported around 250,000 undocumented Haitians.

Meanwhile, critics and human rights advocates have accused Abinader’s administration of human rights violations. The government has rejected those charges.

Haiti has been grappling with a political and security crisis for years, one that has seen criminal gangs take control of 80 percent of the capital of Port-au-Prince and other areas of the country. The violence has forced thousands to flee and left 700,000 people homeless.

After months of delay, a UN-approved force led by Kenya has been deployed to Haiti in an effort to restore order. The mission includes nearly 400 Kenyan police officers, supported by around two dozen police and soldiers from Jamaica, and senior military officers from Belize.