Halifax immigration lawyer Lee Cohen said the deportation issue puts judges in a difficult position. CBC

Two criminal cases on Prince Edward Island in the last week illustrate the difficulty of sentencing immigrants, who will likely pay the additional penalty of being deported if they have a criminal record, some lawyers say.

Yetunde Oluwo, 20, walked into a Charlottetown courtroom on Monday with the possibility of being sentenced to jail time, which would have meant a quick exit from Canada.

She moved to P.E.I. two years ago from Nigeria to go to university. Six months ago, she stabbed her sister in the stomach. Her sister was not seriously injured, but Oluwo later pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm. That put her immigration status in jeopardy.

"When a foreign national in Canada comes before the criminal justice system, the possibility of being removed from Canada if a conviction is entered against that person is very real," said Halifax immigration lawyer Lee Cohen Wednesday.

In fact, since 2009 in Atlantic Canada, 86 immigrants have been deported as a result of their criminal record.

But judges do have a way to prevent that from happening.

For example, on Monday, Judge John Douglas granted both Yetunde Oluwo, and another Island immigrant, conditional discharges. That means, as long as they stay out of trouble for the next year, they won't have criminal records.

Without a criminal record, their risk of deportation is gone.

Defence lawyer Jonathan Coady said it's a factor in sentencing that's starting to come up more often in Island courtrooms, given the increase in the Island's immigrant population.

"It just represents the reality that their status in Canada is different, and the court is required to inquire into their individual circumstances, and tailor the appropriate sentence to them," Coady said.

But Cohen thinks a lot of lawyers and judges still need to brush up on their immigration law. He said that, in too many cases in the region, they either ignore the immigration issue altogether, or consider a discharge without much evidence to back it up.

"Far too often, foreign nationals or people with permanent-residence status are appearing before our criminal courts when none of the major players in the court have a sufficient enough understanding, or in some cases any understanding, of where criminal law and immigration law intersect," Cohen said.

Even with a keen understanding of the laws, Cohen said, the deportation issue does put judges in a difficult position as they try to balance usual court precedent with the fact a criminal record for an immigrant can carry an extra penalty.