Northfield residents are concerned about safety as Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) continues operations in Minnesota. Local organizations are finding ways to support their
community members. One non-profit, Northfield Area Family YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association), is building a safe space for its residents and employees during this time of unease.

Serving Northfield for 20 years, the YMCA has been dedicated to providing affordable programs
and services to families and youth, creating a more engaged community. Staff and employees
work together to create a welcoming environment for anyone who wishes to attend the YMCA.

In November 2025, employees were given response guidelines for interactions with ICE agents
who enter the YMCA. Because the YMCA is a private space, employees cannot allow ICE agents to enter the facility unless they present a valid judicial warrant signed by a judge. They should immediately call the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Tyler Powell, or contact a supervisor to review the warrant. The leadership team has met with employees to ensure they feel confident in enforcing these guidelines and addressing safety concerns together.

As CEO, Powell makes sure the YMCA is financially solvent and helps with charitable
donations. During the surge of ICE presence, Powell reached out to other YMCA CEOs in the
Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area and in Wisconsin.

“Our first concern was we didn’t want agents just coming into the building and having free rein,”
Powell said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. “I was able to ask, ‘How are you handling this situation?’ We were pulling from each other and helping build on [ideas].”

YMCA of the North — an association of YMCAs in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin — developed language for their staff to prepare for an interaction with ICE agents. Powell also wanted to ensure the Northfield YMCA had language in place for staff and anyone entering the facility, as well as having staff track who was in the building, to keep members safe.

The leadership team of the Northfield YMCA has also been communicating with its members on how they can utilize their facility to protect the community.

For example, Powell noted that they were looking at expanding the use of their vans: We’ve been in talks on how we can utilize our two vans to assist people in transportation services with people who [specialize] in that.”

Currently, vans are used for school and YMCA program services.

In addition, the Member Experience Director, Suzanne Donkers, has been able to have
conversations with the Northfield YMCA’s members.

“It’s a lot more of those one-on-one conversations with people. We try to uphold that this remains a [safe] space,” Donkers said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. “[People] have expressed they do not feel safe coming in. We are putting memberships on hold and really working with these people.”

Northfield YMCA’s leadership team has noticed an increase in scholarship applications for
memberships. As a nonprofit, the team continuously works on raising enough funds to support
anyone who needs financial assistance.

“We are about the people,” Donkers said. “If there is something that we
can be doing, tell us what we can do.”