Israel and Max Makoka are back at home in Diamondhead, Mississippi, after ICE detained the brothers earlier this month while they were waiting for a bus to Hancock High School, their family and advocates said.
The release brought the siblings back to the host parents who have cared for them, Gail and Cliff Baptiste, after the boys were separated and held in different states. ICE said it detained the two for violating their student visas, and the family said the case will continue through the courts even as the brothers regain day-to-day stability.
A statement attributed to the Department of Homeland Security said that on April 21 ICE detained Israel Makoka, an adult, and Max Makoka, his teenage sibling, because they violated their student visas by failing to attend classes at Piney Woods School. The statement also tied the alleged visa violation to what it described as a failure to attend school after an opportunity to participate in a student exchange program, adding that because they violated their visas, they were subject to removal.
Israel, 18, and Max, 15, both came to the United States legally on F-1 student visas, according to the reporting. The brothers then fell out of status after their transfer from Piney Woods Country Life School in Rankin County to Hancock High School about three hours south in Diamondhead.
The brothers’ detention became a high-profile community issue on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and members of the community described a rapid push for their return. Israel was released from the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Jena, Louisiana, and Max was released from an Office of Refugee Resettlement group home in Houston, Texas, according to the reporting.
The family and advocates said the intervention by U.S. Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker helped trigger the sudden releases. After the brothers were brought back to their guardians, Gail Baptiste described being grateful for the support she said came from staff, teachers, senators, congressmen, and city leadership, alongside messages and prayers from the community.
Gail Baptiste said the family received help “from the beginning” and described pro bono legal counsel continuing to represent the brothers. She said, “We are so grateful for all the support in getting this done,” adding that “everybody had a part: everybody that sent messages, prayers, support. The kids, the adults, the staff, teachers, senators, congressmen, the mayor of Diamondhead.”
The release does not reinstate the brothers’ immigration status or remove the threat of deportation, their lawyer said. Immigration attorney Amy Maldonado said the family plans to keep fighting by seeking to reinstate Israel and Max’s F-1 student status through applications to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, while also noting that the brothers cannot attend Hancock High School.
Maldonado also described what she characterized as misunderstandings surrounding how the students fell out of status, saying the situation was “completely inadvertent.” She said the brothers were underage at the time federal authorities treated them as out of status and that their guardians had not been advised their stay was at risk.
The reporting also described momentum in the days after the April 21 arrest, including a ceremony where a teacher was meant to hand Israel his graduation cap and gown, as well as social media attention and a petition that gathered more than 3,100 signatures urging the brothers’ release.
Israel, reunited with his brother in Texas shortly before their return to Mississippi, credited the support they received and told the Mississippi Free Press that God was “consistent,” urging others to keep showing love and care. He said, “Just keep addressing him,” and added that he felt “blessed” to be surrounded by people “who support you,” describing the community’s response as “a blessing.”