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TORONTO - A failed refugee who became a successful Markham businesswoman says she might have to lay off 19 Canadian workers and shut two firms if she's deported to her native China.
Miaomiao Wang, 26, the mom of two Canadian-born girls including one two months old, owns and operate a travel agency and a car rental firm in Markham, which she founded after arriving in Canada.
She arrived here in 2003 as a student and filed an unsuccessful refugee claim and appeal.
Wang is awaiting documents for her children so they can return with her to China.
"I am very worried for my children," she said yesterday. "My girls won't be able to attend school or get medical help in China."
Wang said she spent all her time in Canada building up her businesses, which have allowed her to purchase a large home.
She's concerned for the health and safety of her girls, the older one being 15 months, who may not be able to handle life in China.
"I am worried about my baby who is too young to take back," Wang said, adding she's concerned about pollution and receiving proper health care. "I have no family here to help me with the businesses."
Her immigration consultant, Roy Kellogg, said Wang will be fined about $200,000 when she returns for having children out of wedlock. Her boyfriend was deported to China earlier this year.
"These kids are known as 'black babies' because they are born out of wedlock and not authorized by the Chinese government," Kellogg said. "She can even be sterilized when she returns home."
Kellogg said the Canadian kids will have to give up their citizenship when they arrive in China, where they can only be citizens of one country.
"This an enormous travesty," he said. "This is a hard-working woman with her own home and businesses."
Immigration officials refused to comment on the case, citing privacy concerns.
Wang was ordered to show up next week at a Greater Toronto Enforcement Centre, on Airport Rd., to make removal arrangements for her and her children, immigration documents show.
TOM.GODFREY@SUNMEDIA.CA