For Immediate Release
April 17, 2008

Media Contact:

Kara Tershel, (202) 662-9500

Professor Schrag

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A new book by Georgetown University Law Center Professor Philip Schrag and his former client, David Ngaruri Kenney, recounts the chilling story of Kenney’s attempt to escape persecution in his native Kenya and gain asylum in the United States.

"Asylum Denied: A Refugee’s Struggle for Safety in America" (University of California Press, 2008), is the harrowing tale of Kenney’s protest against the exploitation of farmers in Kenya; his arrest, subsequent torture, imprisonment and near-execution; and his remarkable escape to the United States with the help of several Peace Corps volunteers. After years of bureaucratic battles with U.S. government agencies seeking to deport him, Kenney was forced to return to Africa, where he was nearly killed again.

"Asylum Denied" is, in the words of Yale Professor Bruce Ackerman, "a fabulous book – a love story, a law story, a struggle against death, a battle for justice, and much more."

Schrag maintains that while the American asylum system is a reasonably good one, an asylum applicant’s case too often turns on random factors, particularly which immigration judge is assigned to the case. He makes several suggestions for reforming the process, including guaranteeing free legal representation for indigent asylum-seekers who are placed into deportation proceedings, and removing the Board of Immigration Appeals from the Department of Justice.

"'Asylum Denied' is riveting and essential reading for anyone interested in the lives and struggles of immigrants. Kenney’s story will astonish, frustrate and inspire you," said Dave Eggers, author of "What is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng."

"In 'Asylum Denied,' David Kenney and Philip Schrag bring us a deeper understanding of the vagaries of our asylum process by telling David’s riveting story. What society wouldn’t be enriched by such stoic, courageous and principled strivers as Kenney? The more we learn of the lives and yearnings of such people, the closer we will be to an asylum process worthy of our values," noted Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"From the horror of political persecution half a world away to the death of a thousand bureaucratic cuts here at home, 'Asylum Denied' is a riveting microcosm of a story that has touched – and scarred – countless victims of mankind’s cruelty. And for sheer perseverance under impossible circumstances, Sisyphus could take a lesson from this tale," writes Jeff Greenfield, Senior Political Correspondent, CBS Evening News.

At Georgetown Law, Schrag is professor of law and director of the Center for Applied Legal Studies, which represents refugees seeking political asylum in the United States. He also directs the Public Interest Law Scholars Program, designed for students who wish to pursue public interest careers.

In 2007, Schrag, Georgetown Law visiting professor Andrew I. Schoenholtz and Temple University Beasley School of Law professor Jaya Ramji-Nogales released a study, "Refugee Roulette," which uncovered immense disparities in refugee adjudications in U.S. immigration courts. The authors demonstrated that the outcome of an asylum case depends to a great extent on the personality, background and prior experience of the adjudicator, rather than the merits of the claim. A story about the study appeared on the front page of the New York Times on May 31, 2007.

Where "Refugee Roulette" is an overview of injustices in asylum adjudication, "Asylum Denied" offers a personal look at how these injustices affect a single individual and even endanger his life.

Schrag has also been a longtime advocate for law students who wish to pursue public interest careers. His work was instrumental to the passage of the student loan forgiveness program for public service employees that Congress included in the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, passed in 2007. In recognition of his public interest leadership and service, Schrag received the Deborah L. Rhode Award from the Association of American Law Schools in 2008.

Schrag is the author of thirteen books including, "A Well-Founded Fear: the Congressional Battle to Save Political Asylum in America" (1999) and "Repay As You Earn: The Flawed Government Program to Help Students Have Public Service Careers" (2002).

 

About Georgetown University Law Center 

Georgetown University Law Center is one of the world's premier law schools. It has the largest full-time faculty in the nation and is pre-eminent in several areas, including constitutional, international, tax and clinical law. Drawing on its Jesuit heritage, it has a strong tradition of public service and is dedicated to the principle that law is but a means, justice is the end. With this principle in mind, Georgetown Law has built an environment that cultivates an exchange of ideas and the pursuit of academic excellence. It brings together an extraordinarily varied group of teachers, scholars and practitioners, as well as an outstanding student body representing more than 60 countries.

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