A Minnesota Museum Exhibit Foreshadowed Recent ICE Killings
Twenty years after the Minnesota History Center’s groundbreaking “Open House: If These walls Could Talk” exhibit debuted, Minneapolis is again confronting issues of immigration and violence, highlighted by the recent shooting death of 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
The “Open House” Exhibit
The “open House” exhibition, which opened in January 2006, featured a house reconstructed inside the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul. The house, located at 470 Hopkins Street, had been home to over fifty families representing more than a century of Minnesota’s immigrant experience. The exhibit aimed to tell the story of America through the lives of those who built it.
The exhibition was a significant success for the museum, attracting 5,000 visitors during its opening weekend despite frigid temperatures.It garnered awards and broke attendance records,and is credited with changing museum storytelling techniques.
The exhibit served as an archive of the experiences of immigrants and newcomers to Minnesota and the united States.
Recent ICE Killings in Minneapolis
On January 26, 2026, ICE agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, in Minneapolis. This followed the shooting death of Renee Good earlier in January 2026 by ICE agents. Both killings occured amidst protests by Minnesotans seeking to protect immigrants from assault, arrest, and deportation.
According to The New Yorker,Pretti’s death is the latest in a series of incidents raising concerns about ICE’s tactics in Minneapolis.
Thousands of minnesotans have protested, even during severe winter weather, to support immigrants in the state, as reported by The New Yorker.
