A lawyer representing some of the female Tamil migrants who recently arrived in B.C. has urged that the processing of two women be prioritized, saying that one is suffering from a shrapnel wound and the other was tortured.

Malini Dyonisius, the duty counsel representing four of the women at Friday's Immigration and Refugee Board hearing in Vancouver, said one of the young women was suffering from wounds she received in Sri Lanka.

Dyonisius said the woman had shrapnel in her leg that had become infected although it was unclear when she was wounded and how it happened.

She said the woman had gone to a hospital in Sri Lanka, but left, fearing she would be persecuted.

Dyonisius said although the woman has received antibiotics and painkillers, the pain has become worse since she arrived in Canada.

Dyonisius said another case involving an older woman should also be expedited. She said the woman is distraught because her husband was allegedly shot and killed by the Sri Lankan army.

Dyonisius said the woman, who is asthmatic and doesn't have proper medication for her condition, maintains she was tortured in Sri Lanka and has cigarette burns on her chest. But no details were given as to when her husband was allegedly shot and or when the woman was allegedly tortured.

Officials with the Canada Border Services Agency have said they prioritize the women migrant cases.

Ron Yamauchi, a lawyer representing the Minister of Public Safety and the CBSA, said that the four women had not yet been fingerprinted but had been photographed and interviewed.

He said officials are trying to verify identities, which includes looking at bank, school, employment and health records.

The adjudicator at the hearing said that it was only two weeks since the migrants' boat arrived. She said that since there were 492 migrants on board, the delay in establishing the validity of documents, including Sri Lankan national identity cards, birth and marriage certificates is understandable.

She ordered detention continued for the four women until mid-September at which time another review will take place.

So far, none of the 492 migrants have been released from detention because their identities have not yet been verified. The men and women are being housed at a Vancouver-area correctional facility.

The Sri Lankan migrants arrived by ship off the British Columbia coast earlier this month.

With files from Manjula Dufresne