She discussed previous detainments during the registration process—such as hundreds of arrests in Calif. this December that sparked a protest in Los Angeles.

“We’re not sure what happens in Boston,” Murray said. “The terrible thing about the process is the secrecy with which it has been done.”

Joining Together

Elizabeth A. Saloom ’06, who volunteered on Friday morning before a 9 a.m. class, told the men on their way in to register that they could face a couple of hours of detainment.

But detention isn’t always a brief experience, Saloom said. Her friend’s boyfriend had been deported for 16 months when he went to the INS to register, she said.

Accounts of similar detentions and arrests at Special Registration across the country prompted students from local colleges, including Harvard, to get together earlier this month and plan how they could help those required to register, Saloom said.

The groups decided to work with local organizations such as the ADC and the ACLU to inform those preparing to register about the possible complications of the process and to ensure that they received sufficient opportunities to secure legal representation if necessary.

Their effort on Friday was the first of several such gatherings scheduled through the next two months.

A series of qualifications, including visa status and residence plans, obligates certain men over the age of 16 from 24 Middle Eastern and African nations—as well as from North Korea—to register by assigned deadlines staggered through March.

About 10 Harvard students have signed up so far to volunteer on upcoming registration dates, Saloom said.

The students next plan to distribute information at registration sessions throughout the week of Feb. 18, when they expect tremendous numbers of non-immigrants from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to turn out.

The number of men who visited the JFK building on Friday surprised Saloom—she was expecting lower numbers, she said. Standing in the shelter of the overhang, she asked men planning to register to provide a bit of information about themselves, including their health status.

Some non-immigrants who have been kept at detention facilities have said they were not given access to needed medication, she explained.

Jason Kurian, a senior at Northeastern University who was also volunteering, said that he was frustrated by what he perceived to be a blatant violation of human rights.

“I’m just disgusted with people being denied their rights. And no one seems willing to stand up against the threat,” he said. “I’m glad to be able to do what I can.”