Philip G. Schrag

From OHA Wiki

Background

Philip G. Schrag is a Professor of Law at Georgetown University and is the director of the Center for Applied Legal Studies and the Public Interest Law Scholars Program. The Center for Applied Legal Studies allows students to represent refugees seeking asylum in the United States. Schrag has taught at Georgetown University since 1981, following a career that includes the following: assistant counsel to the NAACP Legal Defense Educational Fund, Consumer Advocate of the City of New York, professor at Columbia University Law School, and Deputy General Counsel of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. As Deputy General Counsel, Schrag received a Meritorious Honor Award in 1981. Schrag has also served as a consultant in a variety of capacities including writing a draft of New York City’s Consumer Protection Act of 1969.

Publications

Schrag is author of thirteen books including Asylum Denied: A Refugee’s Struggle for Safety in America, written with David Ngaruri Kenney and Ethical Problems in the Practice of Law with Lisa Lerman. Schrag was Kenney’s attorney during his asylum cases and appeals, all of which is documented in Asylum Denied, an oral history account of Kenney’s life and legal battles. In the epilogue of the text, Schrag outlines recommendations for the current U.S. immigration system: Reduce the role of luck, train immigration and federal judges, provide legal representation for asylum applicants, restore the appeals process, fix the diversity visa lottery system, provide a review process when consular officers deny visas, clarify that federal courts can suspend the expiration of voluntary departure while they review asylum cases, and recognize that genuine refugees may risk persecution in family emergencies.