Two Nigerian girls who have been facing deportation for more than a year may have given up their fight to stay in Saskatchewan, according to the University of Regina president.

“I was informed the girls had decided to go back to Nigeria just in the last week, week and a half,” Vianne Timmons told Global News.

Favour Amadi and Victoria Ordu were third year students at the Uni. of Regina until and have been facing deportation since June 2012 after they both took jobs at Walmart without proper work visas. Both girls claimed they were unaware the work was a violation of their study permits.

Amadi and Ordu were ordered to leave the country, and had been in hiding at a Regina church.

"I've spent three years of my life studying here, and to go back without anything to show for it, is painful, sad," said Ordu.

Amadi was feeling the same way. "And to go back home without a single degree...is actually shameful and disappointing for both us and our parents," she said.

The office of Wascana MP Ralph Goodale says it has received confirmation the deportation occurred sometime Friday.

Goodale says forcing the two students to leave the country is far out of proportion to their transgression.

“There needs to be more flexibility in the system to say, ‘We need to deal with this, not with deportation, but a fine or some other consequence.’ “

“Canada should be a nation of compassion and Saskatchewan the province of opportunity,” Saskatchewan NDP leader Cam Broten said in a news release. “Forcing Victoria and Favour to return to Nigeria because of an honest mistake is an injustice, and a shameful embarrassment for the province.”

A spokesperson for the Minister of Public Safety says the government “will not compromise on the integrity of the immigration system”.

Timmons says she still supports the two girls, adding that she will work hard to support their return to Canada.

“They’ve sacrificed a lot of their lives for education,” said Timmons. “That’s a brave thing to do.”