Assault Causing Bodily Harm: Immigration Status

Prince Edward Island Dept: 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, according to CBC. "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 and 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. 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. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.