Inside the group that helps ICE detainees released from Whipple find warmth, phones and rides

Constitutional observers, protestors and others detained by ICE at the Whipple Federal Building are released from the building at all times of the day, every day. And a newly organized group of people, called Haven Watch (formerly known as Safe Havens), spends its days waiting outside the Whipple building. They help newly released people get home, contact their loved ones and stay safe from the cold.

Leading the group is Natalie Ehret. She talked to MPR News host Nina Moini by phone outside the Whipple building.

The following has been edited for length and clarity. Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation. 

Haven Watch got started just two weeks ago. How did you first see the need for it popping up?

Two weeks ago, I brought my my sons here to the Whipple building. We came with supplies to hand out to the observers and the protesters, which were hand warmers, cookies and protein bars. We didn't know people were getting released from detention right at that location, too.

In the midst of that, my son called me and said, “I found these two girls. I brought them to our car. They were freezing. I got them some food and water, and they're calling home.”

And from his act of kindness, that's what we do every day. We meet people at the gate, we get them in a warm car. We give them burner phones. At first we were just offering our own phone, giving them a ride, or waiting till their own ride arrived. So my son’s act of kindness is the inspiration for this.

What is it like outside of the Whipple building when you’re waiting for people to get released?

I’m sitting here in my car next to my husband, looking at the building right now. It's generally peaceful. People are angry and passionate, but my kids felt safe here. And the only time that you'd see the violence and aggression is when DHS would advance from the gates and throw smoke and flares and pepper spray. When they do that, my kids and I will just take a few minutes to get into the car and wait, because there was no rhyme or reason to when they'd advance.

When they were done with with their production, we would come back out with our cookies. It was such an absurd act of of violence, you know; and I was in the military, I saw there was nothing tactical about it. It just seemed to be for show or for performance of aggression.

I knew we'd get some pushback from some family and friends about bringing my kids here. As my 11 year old said, “I'm more likely to get killed at school.” He felt safer here than when he goes to school, which is telling to another issue of how lost we've become.

What state are people released from the Whipple building in when you meet them?

I've interviewed almost every person that's came out in the last two weeks, so I feel like I know basically every story that's come out, and it's devastating.

Many of them are people who were temporarily detained all day long and they were picked up either just observing, maybe protesting, they had a whistle or there’s just a lot of racial profiling. You know, 20-year-old kids who were on their way to work and they showed their documentation. They're a full citizen, they showed their real ID and still were drug from the vehicle and brought here.

Those people come out almost always without a phone or ID and in what they were wearing when they were taken. And they weren't allowed phone calls when they were released from the building, so there's no one here waiting for them. And even if they are able to use a phone, their driver might be an hour or two away. So not only is the access to the phone important but just a safe place to wait.

How many people have you encountered? Tell me more about them.

I think about 60 or 70 percent of them are citizens. And then the other releases are non U.S. citizens, who have all had some kind of legal status.

They have the most devastating stories. It's hard for me to even see them walk out. And I know instantly when they're an immigrant, not a citizen, because they walk out broken. It's unbearable to hear their stories. To say that they're not criminals is an total understatement.

They're business owners and kids. I had a 20-year-old talking about playing “Fortnite,” another young adult who told me he was trying to be a Marine before this, because he loves this country and wanted to give back, but they don't want him.

After some of these I just go cry in the parking lot because it’s so devastating. I just don't know how we got so lost that we can traumatize these people that are our community members.

Is the work sustainable into the future for you and your team?

Well, we won't stop. But we are tired. We're having some great helpers stepping up, and we're pretty careful about the people we let help because of the sensitive nature of the people we work with.

But after I've seen who comes through that gate, I just can't be at home thinking we're missing someone. But yes, emotionally it feels unsustainable. But that’s being human. I shouldn’t pick my son up from soccer and pretend I like didn't just hear a story that’s so painful that it changed me.

MPR News has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment about releasing people from the Whipple building without coats or shoes. At the time of this publishing, we have not heard back from them.